Northlanders turned up in their droves to have their say in September's general election, with numbers well up on the 2014 vote.
Turnout was significantly higher than in the last election in all Northland's electorates, the final tally of special votes revealed.
In Whangarei, turnout rose from 78.1 per cent in 2014 to 81.0 per cent of those on the electoral roll this year - an additional 4000 voters.
This was also the number of people who cast special votes in the electorate - up from just under 3000 last election.
The winner on election night, National's Shane Reti, said before the special vote count he expected his majority to increase as nearly half of the special votes in 2014 were for him.
"These special votes did increase my majority and so it is possible but not certain that my election night majority will change again for the 2017 election."
Special votes did increase his majority by 800, but also moved Labour's Tony Savage into second place over NZ First's Shane Jones. Mr Jones, however, made it into Parliament as a list candidate. Mr Savage did not.
Mr Savage, a relative newcomer to politics, said candidates would often have to stand in an electorate two or three times to win. He felt "okay" about the party vote in Whangarei, he said.
"I had an aim to get 10,000 and we got 11,000."
Turnout in the Northland electorate, won by National's Mat King, was similar, rising from 77.7 per cent of enrolled voters to 81.8 per cent. Nearly 6000 special votes were cast in the Northland electorate.
Whangarei and Northland electorates both had a higher turnout than New Zealand overall - 78.6 per cent.
The percentage of people voting increased slightly throughout the country from 2014's historic low of 76.8 per cent.
The Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau had just 67.6 per cent of enrolled voters heading to the polling booths. This was the highest turnout of any of the Maori electorates.
The number of young people enrolled to vote in Whangarei skyrocketed in the last few months before the election, as the Electoral Commission targeted younger voters.
At the beginning of June, just 63.8 per cent of those aged 18-24 were enrolled to vote in Whangarei, but by election day this was 76.9 per cent.
In the Northland electorate, 70.1 per cent of 18-24 year olds were enrolled by September 23.
Enrolments among older people were much higher - 100.56 per cent of the estimated population of 65-69 year olds in Whangarei enrolled to vote, and 98.3 per cent of the same age group in Northland.
The percentage of people from each age group who actually voted was not yet available.
In 2014, just 55.2 per cent of people aged 18-24 who were enrolled in Whangarei cast a vote. In the same election, 88.7 percent of 65-69 year olds who were enrolled voted.
The Electoral Commission appointed youth advisors in an effort to encourage young people to enrol to vote.
"They were a very motivated group," Northland's Registrar of Electors Melody Hicks said.
"Our young people went where the young people were. They went right around as many places as they could."
That included schools, events and tertiary institutions.
"They even put on their gumboots and went out to the agricultural courses."