Waikato’s turnout ‘deeply worrying’

Whether it be missing voting papers, a slow postal service or voter apathy, with just a week left before local government election day low voter turnout across the Waikato has been described as ‘‘deeply worrying’’.

While some councils are faring better than others, voter turnout across the Waikato region, as at 4pm Thursday, was lower for every council except the Thames-Coromandel and Waikato district councils compared to the same day during the 2019 elections (see details for each council below).

Waipā District Council governance manager Jo Gread said despite the fact that mayors, councillors and community board members ‘‘make critical multi-million dollar decisions that determine the future of the Waipā district for decades to come’’, only 3932 people (9.93% of eligible voters) had voted in the Waipā district election so far.

At the same time last election Waipa’s returns were sitting at 17.4%.

Gread said the low level of voter turnout was ‘‘deeply worrying’’, given how much was at stake.

‘‘The people sitting around the council table make decisions which impact our lives every single day.

‘‘It is our councillors who decide on everything from parks, to roads, to water services and so much more.

‘‘I’m astounded people don’t want to have a say on who makes those decisions on their behalf,’’ Gread said. Taupō District Council chief

executive Gareth Green said he was

‘‘incredibly concerned’’ about Taupō ’s low voter turnout to date, and that

‘‘democracy requires people to get involved’’.

Voter numbers in Taupō have been better than most over the years with 52% of eligible voters having their say in 2019, but Green said even that was still too low.

As of Thursday, only 10.75% of Taupō ’s registered voters had sent back their papers, compared to 21.07% in 2019.

‘‘We’ve tried everything this year to get people involved with ballot boxes at markets and shops and service stations . . . but the number of people voting has been trending down over past elections.’’

Taupo’s council had provided venues for candidate meetings and had also livestreamed them.

‘‘I’m hopeful there’s going to be a flood next week, I think it’s human nature for people to do these sorts of things in the last few days.’’

Green said there were a range of reasons why voter turnout was poor both locally and nationally, but said postal voting was outdated and councils needed to think about how to raise voter numbers at the next election.

‘‘I’ve heard from people who have changed their address but still not received their documents and a lot have been sent to old addresses . . . Some people have told me they don’t even know where a post box is in their area.’’

Green said one possible option was online voting, or combining local elections with general elections where more than 82% of New Zealanders voted in the 2020 election.

He said better education for young people about how councils work could help as well.

Managing director of Election Services Dale Ofsoske, one of two election providers being used in the Waikato, said he was also concerned about the low turnout so far this year.

‘‘But I’m expecting this to increase significantly next week as more electors return their vote by hand to a ballot box in many council facilities.’’

People can have their say in the local government elections up until midday on October 8 (election day).

Postal votes must be sent no later than Tuesday, October 4.