Younger residents of Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Tauranga are lagging significantly behind more senior citizens in enrolling to vote in the general election, data shows.
Across those electorates, more than 26,000 eligible voters in all age groups have not signed up to vote.
But the Electoral Commission says it is not too late to sign up and one young first-time voter eager to have his say is encouraging other young people to take advantage of the “liberating” opportunity.
Electoral Commission data showed Rotorua electorate enrolments across all age groups were short by 9350 eligible voters, which included 55.6 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 years. About 97.4 per cent of voters aged 65 and older were enrolled.
The figures were similar for the Taupō electorate.
The generation gaps were smaller in the Bay of Plenty and Tauranga electorates, where nearly 17,000 eligible voters in all had not signed up across the two electorates.
In Tauranga, just over 66 per cent of the youngest cohort were enrolled compared to 91 per cent of those aged 65-69 and 97.7 per cent aged 70 and older.
In the Bay of Plenty, 64.8 per cent of those aged 24 and under had signed up, compared to more than 96 per cent of those aged 65 and over, with similar proportions in Coromandel.
About 8950 people have not enrolled in Taupō and 6400 in Coromandel.
In the Waiariki electorate, 38,404 people were enrolled on the Māori roll, including 3749 aged 18 to 24 years, compared to 5534 in the 65-and-over age group.
Excited first-time Bay of Plenty voter August Marwick said it felt “liberating” to enrol and finally be able to vote after three years of waiting to do so.
The 20-year-old retail assistant from Judea is also studying at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology to gain his Bachelor of Creative Industries degree, majoring in visual arts.
Marwick said he was “gutted” not to be able to vote in the 2020 general election because he was I7, while 18-year-old friends could do so.
“It feels ecstatic to finally be able to voice my views on the ballot paper and, in doing so, push for some great things to happen,” he said.
“It felt liberating to vote. It’s a very special privilege and I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity.”
Marwick said in this election climate change was one of the top concerns that prompted him to vote as the “world was burning”. The housing crisis was another.
He said he and his partner were currently renting and could “never imagine” owning their own home given the high cost of living and housing prices.
Marwick urged other those enrolled to grab the chance to have their say.
“Do it. It only takes less than 10 minutes and it does really matter as every single vote counts.”
Voting started on October 2 and across the country, 298,871 people had cast votes as of Thursday, compared to 110,424 votes at the same point in 2020.
Chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne said on Friday the enrolment rate for 18- to 29-year-olds was at 75.7 per cent, slightly more than 75.4 per cent at the same time during the 2020 election, which was encouraging.
The commission expected to see enrolment rates increase as we headed towards election day.
”We encourage everyone – of all ages – to enrol and vote and ensure their voices are heard. If you haven’t already enrolled, it’s not too late. You can enrol and vote at the same time at any voting place.”
People can vote at any voting place in New Zealand and on election day, October 14. Polling booths are open from 9am to 7pm.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.