Less than half of eligible voters got their ballots in for Saturday’s local elections. Photo / RNZ
Online voting, a specific voting day and even compulsory voting will be part of discussions to reboot local elections, after a historically low turnout over the weekend.
Less than half of eligible voters got their ballots in for Saturday’s local elections, with metropolitan regions seeing just 36.4 per cent of people voting, just beaten by those in the provinces and rural areas at 40 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.
“Local Government New Zealand ran a multi-faceted campaign to increase the diversity of candidates as well as voter turnout this year but preliminary results still indicate there is a massive gap to bridge between turnout for local elections compared with central government elections.” the president of the council representative body Stuart Crosby said today.
“We always knew it was going to take more than one election cycle to turn this around.”
Crosby says new trends have emerged from the weekend's election data, which makes him hopeful. Mayors who identify as female reached 34 per cent, an increase of 30 per cent from the 2019 election.
Tania Tapsell was elected mayor of Rotorua in the local government elections on Saturday, one of five new Māori mayors across the motu. / NZME
More than 30 councils also implemented Māori wards for the first time and that’s "a big reason to celebrate" according to Bonita Bigham, who chairs Te Maruata, Local Government New Zealand’s collective of Māori elected and appointed to governance roles.
“That’s 66 new Māori ward councillors who will be joining the ranks of elected members and making sure that Māori have a strong voice in decisions that councils are making,” Bingham said.
At least five Māori mayors were elected Saturday, including Tania Tapsell in Rotorua and Tory Whānau in Wellington, up from just one in 2019.
“I’m thrilled to see that there has also been a huge increase in Māori mayors elected around the motu”. Bingham said.
“Te Maruata is here to support Māori elected members. We have established Te Āhuru Mōwai, a tuakana-teina support programme. It will provide a culturally safe space for Māori in local government to support and learn from each other through whanaungatanga and wānanga.”
In some areas where turnout was incredibly low such as Tāmaki Makaurau (30 per cent turnout), the right appeared far more successful at mobilising voter turnout.
Centre-right candidate and former Far North Mayor Wayne Brown won with a large 54,000 vote majority, over left-wing candidate Efeso Collins, who had received high-profile endorsements from the likes of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“LGNZ wants to work with central government to review how elections can be delivered more consistently and impactfully, including communication, engagement, the practicality of postal voting, and things like access to ballot boxes in more remote parts of the country,” Stuart Crosby said.
Jackie Te Amo-Te Kurapa, a candidate for the Toi ki Uta Māori ward had tabled the possibility of compulsory voting, and online voting before Saturday’s election.
Centre-right candidate and former far north Mayor Wayne Brown won with a large 54,000 vote majority, over left-wing candidate Efeso Collins on Saturday. However, just 30 per cent of those eligible to vote in Tāmaki Makaurau returned ballot papers. / NZME
Academics have argued postal voting negatively affects those who aren’t homeowners, and who can suffer from housing instability for example.
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said this morning central and local government would review processes around local elections to make voting more accessible and to encourage people to participate; a process looked at every three years.
“There will be a lot to learn after this election about how processes can be improved, for example the use of the postal system," she said in a statement.
"I will be talking further to Local Government NZ about that."
LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene backed that.
“Councils are making important decisions that will have wide-ranging impacts on future generations. Alongside the voting process, LGNZ will be leading work so councils can incorporate participatory democracy into their decisionmaking,” Freeman-Greene said.
“Ultimately, we want practical recommendations that are taken on board by the government so we can make voting much more accessible in the local elections in 2025.”
“It’s clear, following these elections, that we have a lot more work to do to make Aotearoa the most active and inclusive democracy in the world.” She added.
