Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz says the Electoral Commission could run local body elections as well as general elections. Photo / RNZ
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz says the Electoral Commission could run local body elections as well as general elections. Photo / RNZ
Mayor Rehette Stoltz says a review of the local body election system is overdue.
Stoltz is a member of the newly formed Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Electoral Reform Group which aims to increase voter turnout and implement four-year terms.
Stoltz describes the group as having a multi-pronged approach to examine if the electoral system is fit for purpose and whether people feel they can engage with it.
“If we make it easier, maybe we may see an uplift in voting.”
Stoltz told the Gisborne Herald that the reform group was looking at four key issues:
Who should administer local elections, and how they are best run.
Local body voter turnout across the country was lower compared to central government elections.
The local body voter turnout was 43.4 per cent in Gisborne and 51.5 per cent in Wairoa in 2022 and only averaged 40.44 per cent across the nation.
The national turnout was 57 per cent in 1989, the first election held under the local body amalgamations which still exist today and have plummeted ever since.
Yet the turnout in general elections tended to be around the 78 to 80 per cent mark.
Stoltz did not specify any targeted groups in attempting to increase voter turnout.
“The aim is to get people engaged; how do we get people engaged with their local government, how do we get voter participation, why are people disengaged,” Stoltz said.
A newly formed Local Government NZ electoral reform group is working on how to improve turnout in local body elections. Photo / NZME
Changing the electoral term to four years instead of three would make New Zealand consistent with most other countries.
“Both major parties have in the past spoken in favour of a four-year term for both local and central government.”
On changing the way people cast their vote, Stoltz said people did not use mailboxes anymore.
The postal system was not meeting modern demands but there were cyber security concerns in terms of online voting.
Gisborne District Council was involved in an LGNZ working group looking into online voting in 2018.
“It looks like it is near to impossible to have faith in online elections, but that doesn’t mean we cannot look at the system we use when we vote for national elections with a polling booth and a voting day which means we don’t have to use the postal system,” she said.
“It is something we would need to adapt and look at what works best.
“Do we use a combination of all systems?”
In terms of administering local body elections, Stoltz said the Electoral Commission ran the general election nationwide.
“Maybe it’s time for them to run local body elections.”
The electoral reform group, led by Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, will work with mayors, councils and communities to drive the necessary changes, LGNZ president Sam Broughton said.
Research by Smith Business Consulting for the Auckland Council in 2019 divided non-voters into four categories: entrenched non-voters who thought voting was a waste of time (18 per cent); the apathetic, who could not be bothered (29 per cent); people who lacked awareness about local government, the elections, the candidates or their policies (29 per cent); and people who meant to vote but did not get around to it (24 per cent).
Statistics New Zealand and LGNZ research shows Pākehā New Zealanders, the elderly, people with higher education and income, and property owners are more likely to vote.
