Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker on official duties on Anzac Day - but she hasn't had to blow her trumpet at all in the election campaign, because she's re-elected unopposed. Photo / NZME
A Hawke's Bay mayor is imploring voters to get ticking to give councils the strength to force changes to election processes which are now being given some of the blame for a low voter turnout in the Local Elections.
But Central Hawke's Bay's Mayor Alex Walker isn't chasing votes in the triennial elections which have been taking place over the last four days nationwide, with papers having to be returned by midday on Saturday.
Walker and Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst are both re-elected and haven't had to go through a campaign - unlike the five chasing the mayoralty in Wairoa, three in Napier, and four in Tararua, each with the incumbents among the candidates.
Significantly, more than 17,000 people on rolls across the CHB and Hastings have no vote – including Waipukurau - with there being just enough nominations to fill the vacancies, thereby meaning no election has been necessary, not only in the mayoralties, but also in council wards, community boards and regional council constituencies in their localities.
But there have also been issues over whether people who can vote are getting their papers, which were supposed to be delivered in the third week of September.
Hazlehurst said: "I have been very disappointed at the number of people who have told me they haven't even received their voting papers.
"We want people to vote so a simpler, more efficient and effective way to enable change must be implemented by central Government," she said.
By late Tuesday, vote returns for CHB accounted for 28.12 per cent of eligible enrolled voters in the one ward where an election is taking place. It compared with 32.92 per cent across the district with four days of voting to the midday Saturday closing time in 2019, and 43.85 per cent at the same stage of the 2016 vote.
In Hastings there had been an 18.47 per cent return, compared with 25.06 per cent per cent at the same stage in 2019.
In Napier, where the mayoralty, all four wards, and the regional council constituency all have elections, there had been a 23.55 per cent turnout, which compared with 28.91 per cent at the same stage three years ago.
But realising the vote is not as great as it should be, with about 11,000 returned out of over 45,000, the council has added a "drive-through" aspect to voting at its CBD Dunvegan House Customer Service Centre polling place, using the parking spaces outside on Hastings St.
Council staff said it was added to the plan when the council saw how the post wasn't getting voting papers through.
In Wairoa, spurred by a five-way mayoralty election and also with votes for all positions, there had been a 27 per cent return, which compared with 28 per cent at the same stage of the 2019 election.
The most promising turnout in the Hawke's Bay Today circulation area is in the Tararua district, where there had been 32.52 per cent turnout by Tuesday evening, compared with 32.57 per cent at the same stage of the last election.
Walker said governments had allowed councils throughout the country to have differing processes, contributing to confusion and other problems, and councils and the representative body Local Government New Zealand had been pressing for change for "years", with little to no response.
In possibly the greatest irony, the elections are by postal vote, but voters have been told that to avoid the papers not reaching the registrar in time to be included, they must now be delivered to the ballot boxes (aka orange wheelie bins) at council offices, libraries, supermarkets and other almost exclusively urban sites throughout the country.
Even that had some confusion, with council instructions on the postal vote deadline varying from October 3, which was Monday, to "by October 4" or "by Tuesday", to advertising on Tuesday saying that was the last day.
The number of places nationwide where people can now vote is thought to be about 20 per cent of the more than 2800 used on the polling day of the 2022 General Election for electing Members of Parliament.
Walker implored people with elections to cast their votes to show they care and that they want councils to be strong enough to bring about change.
Acting Napier Council chief executive Richard Munneke says voting is a right and also a responsibility, adding: "There are lots of ways our community can be involved with the work we do - first and foremost is to have their say by voting for who they want to represent them," he says. "It's important people vote, because their elected representatives will be their voice at the decision-making table for the next three years."
Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said LGNZ is "particularly concerned" that the turnout will be "much" lower in areas where mayors are elected unopposed.
"Generally councils that have competitive races enjoy better turnouts," Freeman-Greene said.
"Just because a mayoralty race is already a done deal, doesn't mean we should let complacency creep in," she said. "Mayors play an important leadership role, but it's vital that you have a say on who is around the council chambers too. Councillors have just as much say in policies and decisions as mayors."
"We encourage everyone, even if you're not enrolled yet, to enrol and vote. You can still enrol online and cast a special vote at your local council office."