Bream Bay and Whangārei Heads show the strongest numbers with each over 12 per cent of voting returns.
Okara and Hikurangi-Coastal are lagging behind at 9.7 and 9.9 per cent.
Whangārei electoral officer Dale Ofsoske says this might by the result of New Zealand Post reducing its service from daily deliveries to alternating days.
"By legislation, voting papers were required to arrive by Wednesday last week," Ofsoske said.
"But I suspect the reduced postal service might have an impact on the delivery and people possibly receive their envelopes a day or two later."
Ofsoske says most votes were traditionally returned in last few days of the election.
"Especially this year we expect a heavier last-minute rush. It seems to be normal in today's society to leave decisions to the last minute."
Ofsoske advises electors to post their voting papers by next Tuesday, October 8, to ensure they arrive in time.
If constituents miss that deadline, they can cast their votes at ballot boxes at Customer Services in Forum North or the Ruakaka Service Centre.
A voting bus equipped with ballot boxes will also be touring the district until next Friday.
To avoid mistakes, the electoral office advises to read instructions on the voting papers carefully.
"The biggest mistake people make is not to switch between our different voting systems, which makes their vote invalid," Ofsoske said.
First past the post (FPP) is used for the Whangārei District and the Northland Regional councils.
It requires one tick for the preferred mayoral candidate and one or more ticks for the council, depending on the number of vacant seats.
Mangakahia-Maungatapere and Whangārei Heads wards each have one seat, requiring one tick.
Bream Bay and Hikurangi-Coastal have two seats each, meaning residents can vote for up to two candidates.
Denby residents get up to three and Okara residents up to four votes for district council.
The NDHB uses single transferable voting (STV), which means electors rank their preferred candidates.
To vote, start by writing the No 1 in the box next to the candidate you most want to be elected.
No 2 goes to the second most preferred candidate, followed by 3, 4, 5 and so on,
for as many candidates as preferred.
After polling day, October 12, Whangārei will have to wait until October 17 for the final results.
Voting returns in Whangārei district by ward (September 30)
Bream Bay 12.7%
Denby 10.3%
Hikurangi-Coastal 9.9%
Mangakahia-Maungatapere 11.9%
Okara 9.7%
Whangārei Heads 12.4%
Total 10.7%
