23 Sep 2017

Social media: The perfect way to mark election day

7:42 pm on 23 September 2017

It's D-Day and Charlotte Graham shares the best posts and pictures from around the internet on election day.

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Photo: RNZ / Sarah Robson

As you will no doubt be aware, nobody was allowed to do anything in public today, in case someone might walk past and feel pressured to feel differently to how they might have otherwise.

No matter that 1.2 million New Zealanders managed to vote before election day without being addled by polls and pundits on the way there; election day is sacrosanct.

But now it's 7pm and we can all say whatever we like... (Within reason! Don't be a dick!) Hurrah!

For the first time in a long time, MPs were awfully quiet on Twitter today, perhaps because they were scared of being arrested by the Electoral Commission for breathing, appearing in public or existing. Those who were on social media today went to pains to point out how extremely chilled out they were.

And United Future's Peter Dunne, who announced he will resign at the election (that's today, in case you've missed the news), is really getting into his role as New Zealand's granddad.

In the absence of being allowed to talk politics, some of RNZ's cutting-edge, non-partisan election journalism drew big responses on social media today. If you need to lower your blood pressure, why not check out our listeners' cute pooches in the Facebook comments.

Or our story about Election 2017's hottest trend, dogs at polling places?

Not to be outdone, we seconded our own dog for the evening: meet RNZ's newest rookie reporter, Inca, daughter of Wellington bureau chief Paloma Migone.

Our story about election night eats also proved hotly contested, with readers competing for a share of the vote using increasingly elaborate creations of their own.

Michelle is all of us.

But the winners of the day, perhaps unsurprisingly, were jokes about the Electoral Commission and drinking.

Now we've spent an entire day sitting here trying not to say or even think anything illegal, it's time to switch to RNZ's election night coverage and find out the results. Just remember: the dogs and cupcakes are here all night if you need them.

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