don't give up

it's been a long day, but a very positive one. despite all the polls that were designed and timed to give the left campaign a good hard kick in the guts, the response from voters has been great. we were on the bridges in the morning and at hometime, we were in the biggest shopping mall in ham east all afternoon, and we drove a labour party cavalcade through town. the response had us all buzzing. i can't say if we'll win the electorate, but i just can't see the landslide that the polls of the last 24 hours are giving us.

i remember the 2005 campaign, where we were in a similar situation. the polls had us losing, people were feeling downheartened, but my own sense at the time was that we would pull through. of course, this time around i don't expect labour to get more votes than national. but i'm still quite hopeful that the left-wing parties will pull through. it's definitely not over til it's over.

neither do i think that we will know the answer tomorrow night. a lot of people have voted early, and special votes are very likely to have an impact on the results. generally, special votes have favoured the left.

the best thing you can do, as a left-wing voter, is to please get out and vote. and get others out to vote. if you have any spare time tomorrow, please head over to campaign headquarters in your electorate, and help get our voters out to the polls. there is a whole heap of work to be done, and i expect to be as exhausted tomorrow as i am today.

some light reading, if you're still trying to make up your mind, as russell brown reminds us what this government has achieved in it's nine-year term. and the standard reminds us what a national/ACT government will mean. your vote counts. please help us to prove the polls wrong.