As of October 6, 16.4% of votes had been cast, on par with turnout at the same point in the 2022 election. The low voter turnout has prompted some Māori councillors and hopefuls to call for changes to how whānau cast their votes.
Nationwide, voter participation in local elections has been steadily declining. The 2022 elections saw only about 36% of eligible voters take part, down from around 42% in 2019. The trend has reignited calls for reform, including digital voting and greater public awareness campaigns, as many argue the current postal voting system is failing to engage voters.
Sara Reihana Tara, a first-time candidate for the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board and the only Māori standing for the board, supports modernising the voting process. She says the move is particularly important for rangatahi.
“I think when you’re speaking to rangatahi, they are going to be the ones that are living with our decisions. So, if we want to include them genuinely, sincerely in the decisions we’re making at these local board, ward councillor types of levels, we need to cater to them,” she says
Her views are shared by Toni Boynton, a member of Te Maruata, the collective of Māori elected members. She says that despite efforts to make voting more accessible for whānau, there’s still more that can be done.
“Our numbers are up, but I want our numbers through the ceiling. We’ve got another five days of voting to go and just need to keep on going hard. Says Boynton
Boynton adds she was part of the Local Government New Zealand advisory group that explored ways to make voting easier.
“I was part of the Electoral Reform Working Party with Local Government New Zealand, who made a wide range of recommendations. Now, a lot of the feedback from our Māori members was the push towards digital voting or voting via email or electronically.
