Vote first here!

Note: this post originally appeared on ‘Douglas to Dancing’, a blog I maintained from 2007-9 on the ACT New Zealand political party. The blog was an extension of the thesis I wrote about the Act Party in 2007, From Douglas to Dancing: explaining the lack of success of ACT New Zealand and evaluating its future prospects (PDF).

For those of you who can’t wait to cast your vote on November 8, make sure you cast your vote in Douglas to Dancing‘s poll on ACT’s party vote on the sidebar at left. There are six days to go. In the question I ask “realistically” what percentage of the party vote ACT will get. I thought this could be overwhelmed by ACT supporters hoping the party will get “7% or more” – but a check just now found that of the 12 votes cast (a modest success given the niche appeal of this blog), the most popular band was 4-4.9%.

I wonder if 4% has become ACT’s new set of goalposts. The member e-newsletter pointed out this week that 4% would give ACT 5 MPs. A month out, this is still a realistic target – but ACT has an awful lot of work to do in a limited time-frame if it is to reach this target. With only a month to go the latest polls still put the party on 2% or less. In the final weeks, the party needs to gain credibility with a simple line – vote ACT, change the government and keep National honest.