Lorde gets more searches than local elections

Lorde is searched on Google for than Rotorua's local body elections.

New Zealanders are more interested in Lorde or Kim Kardashian than Rotorua's local body elections - if their Google searches are anything to go by.

Postal voting for New Zealand's last local elections began on September 20, 2013 and closed on October 12.

New Zealand Google searches for Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick increased relative to total searches in the week before voting closed, according to Google Trends data.

She was the most searched for Rotorua mayoral candidate in 2013.

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait was the most searched for Rotorua Lakes Council candidate, with searches for her name spiking the week before voting closed and remained high for the following month.

However, data showed New Zealanders were more likely to be searching for New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde than either of those candidates during election month. Her single Royals topped the charts in 2013.

Searches for American socialite Kim Kardashian also trumped searches for any Rotorua mayoral or council candidate in the month of the elections.

Nationally, searches for the term "elections" - relative to total searches - peaked in the week before voting closed.

Mayor Len Brown was the most searched for Auckland mayoral candidate in 2013.

However, Google searches for Mr Brown peaked further after the elections, following revelations about his affair with Bevan Chuang.

Candidates for this year's local elections will be officially announced in mid-August. Voting papers will be delivered between September 16 and 21 and voting closes on October 8.