Auckland council election: Slow start to voting

Thursday, 26 September 2019

The first count of completed voting papers in Auckland's local body elections shows a slow start with two and a half weeks remaining.

Fewer than 2 per cent of the 1.06 million voters had sent back their papers, about half the number returned at this stage in 2016.

Changes to the postal system may account for the low early numbers, although the papers reached some Auckland homes last Friday.

Across the 32 local boards or board subdivisions, the Kumeu portion of Rodney Local Board has been the fastest to get voting, with 3.1 per cent of papers returned.

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In Auckland 20,650 papers have been returned, from just 1.94 per cent of eligible voters.

In 2016, 3.94 per cent had been returned, while in the lower-turnout 2013 election, just 2.3 per cent were back by now.

While some homes received their papers last Friday, most will have had them on Monday, with the council asking for people to contact them if no papers have arrived by Thursday.

In 2016, 38.5 per cent of Aucklanders voted, compared with 42 per cent nationally.

The lowest response so far has been in the Wellsford portion of Rodney, on 1.3 per cent, while returns of 1.5 per cent have come from Otara, Waiheke Island, Warkworth and the Waitakere Ranges.

Postal voting closes on October 12.