Northland boosts enrolment numbers ahead of election

Northlanders are prepared for September's general election. Photo/File

Interest in September's general election is heating up with thousands more Northlanders enrolled to vote than four years ago.

And with former Labour Cabinet minister Shane Jones standing in the Whangarei electorate for NZ First, that interest is expected to rise further.

It's now less than three months until election day - a chance for you to help select who represents your whanau, city and region in Parliament for the next three years.

More than 117,000 Northlanders are already enrolled to vote, according to the Electoral Commission - almost 90 per cent of the over-18 population, and ahead of the nationwide rate of 88 per cent.

An extra 4000 people were already enrolled on the Northland and Whangarei general rolls than in 2014 - even with three months remaining until election day. But there is still time to enrol to vote on the September 23 election day.

Last week the Electoral Commission sent out election packs to people who were enrolled.

Of those who should be receiving an enrolment pack, around 21,000 in the north are enrolled in the Te Tai Tokerau Maori electorate - 13,500 living in the Northland electorate area, and 7500 in the Whangarei electorate area.

Around 34,500 voters were enrolled in total in Te Tai Tokerau, which extends down and covers the north and west of Auckland - around 1000 less than in 2014.

However, many young people were not yet enrolled. Only 65 per cent of 18-24-year-olds across the whole of Northland - the lowest proportion of any age bracket.

This means there was an estimated 4700 18-24-year-olds not enrolled in Northland.

Many people in this bracket would be first time voters, and had not enrolled before.

More than 90 per cent of 50-year-olds and over were enrolled across the region. In Whangarei, 98.4 per cent of 65-69-year-olds were enrolled - the highest of any age bracket.

Registrar of electors Melody Hicks, who is based in Whangarei, said it was a good idea to get your enrolment sorted early so you're ready to vote on election day: September 23.

"If you don't receive an enrolment update pack addressed to you in the mail this week, it means you're not enrolled or you need to update your details - especially if you've changed address," Ms Hicks said.

"If you enrol before 23 August, it means you'll get an EasyVote pack in the mail closer to the election with all the information you need to vote, including lists of candidates and locations of voting places, and an EasyVote card which will make voting faster."

Anyone with questions about enrolling or voting can contact the local registrar of electors. Voters in the Northland electorate can call Melody Hicks on 09 438 3309. Voters in the Whangarei or Te Tai Tokerau electorates can contact Moana Selwyn on 09 438 8856.

"It's easy to enrol," says chief electoral officer Alicia Wright. "You can visit www.elections.org.nz or pick up an enrolment form at a PostShop. You can also request a form by calling 0800 36 76 56 or by texting your name and address to 3676."

When it comes to voting, Whangarei and Northland electorates had a greater turnout in 2014 (78 per cent) than the nationwide average (77 per cent), while Te Tai Tokerau's turnout was 68 per cent.