Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina said the record low turnout was "very sad" and needed to be addressed. Photo / Jed Bradley
Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina said the record low turnout was "very sad" and needed to be addressed. Photo / Jed Bradley
In one area of Auckland, fewer than 20 per cent of eligible people voted in the local elections, a result described by a councillor as "very sad" and warranting systemic change.
Overall just 31 per cent of Auckland's nearly 1.2 million eligible voters took part in this year's local elections - the lowest turnout by a long stretch since the Super City formed in 2010, when a record 50.1 per cent voted.
Voter turnout across the country was down to a record low 36 per cent, though it is expected to increase marginally once all votes have been counted.
The head of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has urged an independent review, calling the low turnout "extremely concerning" - a concern echoed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
National leader Christopher Luxon also joined calls for urgent reform to the voting system for local body elections.
These rates both dropped from 2019 when they were 22.7 per cent and 25.5 per cent respectively.
Manukau ward councillor Alf Filipaina, who was re-elected yesterday, told the Herald the record low voter turnout was "very sad".
"This is my eighth campaign and it has always been low, but never this low. It is really disappointing to see, very sad."
Filipaina said he did not know exactly why turnout this year was so low.
He and his team, along with other teams, had been door-knocking and encouraging people to vote.
Filipaina felt the postal system was not too great of a barrier, despite his area having much lower rates of home ownership and higher rates of renting than areas with much higher turnout, including Rodney at 47 per cent.
"Maybe we need to look at introducing online voting, to make it easier for younger people, alongside postal voting for the older population. I am not sure, but we need to do something."
Voter turnout in local authority elections has generally been declining over the last 25 years, from 57 per cent in 1989, and has always been well below general elections.
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) president Stuart Crosby said Ōtara achieving under 20 per cent turnout was "extremely concerning".
Crosby said it could be a "reflection of the community's connection with the council".
While postal voting was a barrier right around the country to those with housing insecurity, he said it would be "premature" to speculate whether it contributed to low turnout there.
He said they were calling for an independent review to look into the delivery of elections, communication and engagement with communities as well as the geographical spread, and how to achieve consistency across the country.
"These elections have proved a wake-up call for everyone that the current local body election system just isn't working," Crosby said.
"We are pleased that both sides of the House agree that we need to look into how local elections are run."
Wayne Brown defeated Efeso Collins in the race to be Auckland's next mayor, replacing Phil Goff. Photo / Jed Bradley
He said voter turnout in the larger cities was often lower than the nationwide turnout.
This year, preliminary analysis showed turnout in the cities was down by 1.4 per cent to 36.4 per cent of potential voters overall.
Rural turnout fell 7.5 per cent to 45 per cent and voting in provincial cities was down 6.5 per cent to 40 per cent of potential voters.
The number of female mayors had increased, rising from 30 per cent three years ago to 34 per cent now.
Crosby said they ran a multi-faceted campaign to increase the diversity of candidates and voter turnout, but they always knew it would "take more than one election cycle to turn this around".
"To make a real difference, however, it will require a deliberate effort by councils and communities to better engage with each other in the decisions councils are making, so voters feel more connected to local government, as well as making the process of voting easier."
LGNZ wanted to work with central government to review how elections were delivered and to consider factors such as the practicality of postal voting and accessing ballot boxes in more remote parts of the country, he said.
They wanted practical recommendations that are taken on board by the Government so voting can be made more accessible in the 2025 elections.
This work would be independent of but feed into the Future for Local Government Review, which has a report due this month, as well as the review of Parliamentary Electoral Law.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was "worried" at the low turnout and wanted to work with LGNZ on how to increase engagement.
