Voting rates lag with week to go

We’re tired, worn down by Covid and distracted by political shouting – and it could have dire results for our cities and towns.

Voter turnout in this year’s local government elections in Hamilton and around the region is running at up to half what it was last election with only a week of voting left.

And a council leader and a democracy lecturer say it’s crucial people shake off any reluctance to vote and have their say.

In Hamilton, turnout in the city council elections by the end of Thursday this week was 11% overall, down from 18.6% at the same time in 2019. The east ward was at 12.2% and the west ward at 11%, with the new Mā ori ward at 6% (the latter a possible reason for the different overall rate).

Some people complain they haven’t received their voting papers but other factors are also thought to be behind the drop.

Hamilton City Council chief executive Lance Vervoort said yesterday he was being careful about making too many assumptions about the reasons for the city’s lower turnout.

But, based on anecdotal information, he felt people had been burnt out by the Covid-19 pandemic and were also distracted by other major concerns, such as inflation.

Waikato chief executives he’d spoken with were reporting similar thoughts, Vervoort said. ‘‘I think people are concentrating on some of the wider issues, like the cost of living, and what’s happening internationally and nationally.’’

On Covid-19’s impacts on people’s moods, he would have described many as ‘‘angry’’ three months ago but they had moved to being ‘‘a bit unsettled’’ now.

A Waikato University senior lecturer who teaches about democracy agreed those sorts of reasons for lower turnout were ‘‘quite possible, even likely’’.

Nick Munn said there had, for example, been two-and-a-half years of very politically-focused public discourse over Covid-19.

‘‘The idea that people are fatigued with [political discussions] or just kind of over it rings true.

‘‘People have been talking constantly about political topics in a way that they don’t normally do.’’

A political scientist at the university, Justin Phillips, said in an email that the local election turnout percentage had gradually dropped from the mid 50s to the low 40s over the last three decades.

‘‘We know that one major driver for voter turnout across the world is enthusiasm and partisanship . . . People tend to be less emotionally invested in local government and most local candidates don’t overtly affiliate with political parties,’’ Phillips said.

But Vervoort and Munn both strongly encouraged people in Hamilton and the wider Waikato to get out and vote given the nature of the issues that local councils deal with. ‘‘Voting’s important and the votes can make a difference,’’ said Munn.

Vervoort said anyone who hadn’t received voting papers could consider making a special vote – they were able to contact the council for advice about this.

The council said people can put their voting papers in the mail up until Wednesday or return their voting packs to a ballot box to ensure it arrives in time to be counted. People can also drop forms off on October 8 at polling booths.

On whether a low turnout made councils more susceptible to ‘‘capture’’ by well-organised groups mobilising supporters to vote, Vervoort said he wasn’t concerned about this but emphasised the importance of researching candidates’ backgrounds.

‘‘I think the democratic process is what it is. The one thing I would say . . . and really reiterate to people is do your homework.’’

That was particularly important given the number of experienced councillors stepping down in Hamilton and elsewhere in the region, especially with ‘‘the waves of change upon us’’. He was hopeful the council will be ‘‘in a good place’’ with councillors after the election.

Munn said it was unclear how successful any attempt to influence results by specialist groups would be. Counting against such success could be that supporters of some groups were anti or suspicious of government, and therefore not inclined to vote.

He also noted how media had helped with good information about candidates not being 100% transparent about their backgrounds.

‘‘Stuff. . . is actually doing a really good job of this,’’ Munn said.

Vervoort, meanwhile, reiterated comments from July about the importance of a ‘‘staggering’’ range of issues being faced by the city and how electing good councillors was crucial for Hamilton’s success in ‘‘extraordinary’’ times.

The council would need to work closely with central government and its departments, as well as local partners, and take a ‘‘Hamilton Inc’’ approach to dealing with challenges.

‘‘I’d say for people, if they’re voting, is really look at what the candidates are saying around grasping those opportunities and what we should be doing.’’

To make it easier to vote, there will be drive through voting available at the Caro St carpark, the Migrant Settlement Centre in Boundary Rd and Countdown Dinsdale on the morning of October 8. A Candidate Cafe at the council’s Garden Place headquarters on Saturday afternoon will be another opportunity for people to talk to candidates.