THe Flag thread.

[toofast]

you know that this vote does not get counted and it will go towards the new flag count instead, right?

I thought spoiled votes don't count either way.

[doberman]

you know that this vote does not get counted and it will go towards the new flag count instead, right?

I thought spoiled votes don't count either way.

you thought right. it is invalid and doesn't count either way.

Informal and Invalid Votes

Under section 32 of the New Zealand Flag Referendum Act, an informal vote is recorded when for the first referendum, the voting paper does not clearly indicate the voter’s first preference and for the second flag referendum, where the voting paper does not clearly indicate the option for which the elector wished to vote.  This can be because the voter leaves the paper blank, the voter takes deliberate action to spoil the paper, or an error by the voter means that their intention is not clear. Informal votes are included in the overall turnout, but do not count towards the result.

Under Section 33 of the Act, a vote is recorded as invalid for a number of reasons including being a forgery or a copy, being received after the voting period has closed, where a person has voted more than once, or the voting paper is damaged in such a way that it cannot be processed.

The official results record turnout as percentage of enrolled electors, and how many informal votes and invalid votes were received in total.

[Tiwaking!]

Is this an improvement?

[doberman]

Is this an improvement?

that makes to decision a no brainer

[Kayne]

Apparently, and I mean that word in the highest sense as I saw this on facebook, writing on the paper CAN cause the vote to be counted as invalid.

Which would mean everyone writing "Fuck the new flag", "Fuck John Key" or as above - "N0O0O!!" ... would invalidate their vote to keep the old flag, causing a higher vote for the new one.

Not that I care, really. I like both flags, but I do get sick of the people who confuse NZ and Australia.

[Tiwaking!]

Apparently, and I mean that word in the highest sense as I saw this on facebook, writing on the paper CAN cause the vote to be counted as invalid.

Which would mean everyone writing "Fuck the new flag", "Fuck John Key" or as above - "N0O0O!!" ... would invalidate their vote to keep the old flag, causing a higher vote for the new one.

Not that I care, really. I like both flags, but I do get sick of the people who confuse NZ and Australia.

Clearly there is only one way to settle this then.

[Xenolightning]

You didn't follow the instructions. Your tick extends past the bounds of the voting area. Vote is therefore void.

[Craigor]

Argh, they left it long enough for the new flag to grow on me a bit, and now I don't care either way..

Maybe I should just sell my vote on trademe

[Tiwaking!]

The next time the government try this shit we should stage a coup. A ridiculous waste of time, money, and manpower and it has made New Zealand a laughing stock

[Apostrophe Spacemonkey]

The next time the government try this shit we should stage a coup. A ridiculous waste of time, money, and manpower and it has made New Zealand a laughing stock

The new flag got a higher percentage of the vote then both Labour and the greens combined in the last election.

So no, I don't consider it a waste of time and money.

And who is laughing?

[Xenolightning]

The only thing that is a laughing stock is people trying to apply their dislike of John Key/National to what turned out to be a topical issue. This referendum got a lot of people talking about it, and some good discussion were had on the topic.

It seems most kiwi's can't separate their personal issues from potentially furthering our country. That goes for people on both sides of the flag argument.

I tend to think of most things like a business transaction (other than person to person ofc), being aware of your personal biases or conflicts of interest, can only better the quality of your opinion.

There is a reason I didn't vote in the referendum. I'm not fond of our current flag, and am open for a change; I also didn't particularly like the new design. So my non-vote was a vote and not a vote for both.

EDIT: Mod's need to move this thread out of the "Intellectual Discussion" sub, into the "Irrational Verbal Diarrhoea" sub.

[Tiwaking!]

It seems most kiwi's can't separate their personal issues from potentially furthering our country. That goes for people on both sides of the flag argument.

A majority of the local city councils are in debt.

It seems most kiwis dont know that until their rates go up.

Then they see $26,000,000 spent on a flag 'debate'.

Plus complaining is a National sport in New Zealand.

[Xenolightning]

A majority of the local city councils are in debt.

It seems most kiwis dont know that until their rates go up.

Then they see $26,000,000 spent on a flag 'debate'.

Plus complaining is a National sport in New Zealand.

Local council debt is a different issue.

To put it in perspective. $26M would cover about 5% of Wellington's debt, and would save residents something like $150 for a single a year. Not including interest and whatever else that debt incurs.

Also $26M is bugger all. It's about $8 per eligible voter, over the course of about 6 months.

As I said, it turned out there was something to take away from the referendum. 44% of voters wanted to change the flag, even to something resembling a tea towel. With about 1 million non-voters, that didn't care enough to vote either way.

[Apostrophe Spacemonkey]

It warrants having another vote in 10 years time. By then, there will be a whole new generation of voters, (and a whole generation of older voters who grew up with the current flag would have died off).

We'll change to a new flag for sure.

[Xenolightning]

[doberman-08]

It warrants having another vote in 10 years time. By then, there will be a whole new generation of voters, (and a whole generation of older voters who grew up with the current flag would have died off).

    That's wishful thinking I'm counting on modern medicine to intervene and give me another shot

[Apostrophe Spacemonkey]

I just hope we'll have electronic voting by then. Will be so much cheaper then doing it by mail.