'Hiccups' disturb election turnout

The Chief Electoral Office has admitted to "hiccups" in Saturday's election that left hospital patients without a vote and polling booths short of voting papers.

The office, which co-ordinated 16,000 volunteers taking 2.27 million votes at 2700 polling places, says it is pleased with how the day went overall.

"It's a major logistical exercise running an election. We begin planning it as soon as we have finished the previous election. Given the size of the task ... it's inevitable you are going to have the odd hiccup," said assistant chief electoral officer Robert Peden.

Some patients at Auckland Hospital complained they had no opportunity to vote on Saturday because they could not get access to a polling booth.

Cancer sufferer Stan Baldock was admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning after falling ill and was angry he did not get to cast his vote.

His partner, Donna McNamara, yesterday told the Herald the couple wondered how many others in hospitals or rest homes had missed out.

"Their whole right to vote has been taken away and that is not on. ... It's something, I think, that has to be looked into very seriously."

Mr Peden said voting facilities had been provided to patients at the hospital on Thursday and Friday but not on election day. He regretted that Mr Baldock did not get to vote and apologised to him.

"The returning officer did take a number of calls from patients or friends and families of patients at the hospital on the Saturday, and he advised them they were able to obtain what we call 'takeaway' votes, so that friends and families could have gone and obtained voting papers ... and taken them to the patient in hospital."

Ms McNamara said she was told by hospital staff that there were people at the hospital who would take Mr Baldock's vote, but no one ever came.

She said she was aware of others in the hospital who had also missed out.

Mr Peden said a complaint had come from a nursing union concerned that patients were not able to vote.

A hospital spokeswoman said she understood everything went to plan with the voting at the hospital.

At some polling places in the far-north Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau, voters were forced to wait for polling papers to turn up or to use photocopies to vote because of an unexpected turnout.

"The turnout was heavy. In New Zealand a voter can vote at any polling place they wish to, so it's hard to predict where voters are going to turn up," Mr Peden said.

In Horeke, a small settlement on Hokianga Harbour, two tangi had taken place and there had been a large gathering of people on election day, which had left staff at the local polling place "overwhelmed".

Photocopied papers were issued, and additional supplies were flown in.

"In Horeke, while obviously people had to wait longer than we would have liked, everybody there got a vote, which is the main thing."

In contrast to the heavy turnouts in Te Tai Tokerau, at least one polling place in Te Tai Hauauru did not see even a single voter. According to the official election website, 1228 voting booths across the country took fewer than six votes.