By MARTIN JOHNSTON and AINSLEY THOMSON
A new way of electing district health boards appears to have tripped up many voters.
A quarter of voters in the Auckland District Health Board election and 16 per cent in the Northland board poll returned blank or "informal" papers.
In the postal voting that ended on Saturday, the seven elected seats on each of the 21 health boards were contested under a new single transferable vote (STV) system. And health districts were not divided into wards, so voters faced a choice of up to 40 candidates.
Under STV, voters rank candidates numerically.
Papers are classed "informal" and eliminated from the count if voters make mistakes such as omitting to write the number one against any candidate or using ticks to select candidates, as they would in a first-past-the-post (FPP) poll.
Electoral officer Dale Ofsoske said yesterday he had noticed a number of papers like that. He had also seen others with two candidates ranked number three, or missing a three. In both cases the paper was valid - but only for preferences one and two.
He said the number of informal and blank votes among the Auckland board voting papers was reasonably high, but "we've just put that down to the fact that it's a new electoral system".
Running the STV health board and FPP city, regional and community board elections on the one form was potentially confusing for voters, Mr Ofsoske said.
Turnouts for the health polls were 47 per cent for Auckland and 49 per cent for Northland.
Auckland University political studies lecturer Raymond Miller said the wider problem was voters' unfamiliarity with health boards and the candidates.
Herald Feature: Local Vote 2004
Related information and links
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
‘F*ing lies’: TV star Noel Edmonds rejects claims he sacked Kiwi winery staff
UK celeb Noel Edmonds rejects claims he sacked 17 Kiwi winery staff with a day's notice.