Low turnout benefits

The low early voter turnout may not be a bad thing if it means that:

■ People are not rushing to vote but are instead taking time to suss out more about the candidates.

■ Thosewho don’t care have decided not to vote rather than to make uninformed choices based on the sound of candidates’ names or other irrelevant criteria.

It’s not always wise to vote early as often more can be learned about candidates as polling day nears.

And manywould argue that democracy is better served if those who have no preferences or knowledge of the candidates refrain from voting altogether.

Russell Morrison, Paremata