Election 2023: Steady flow of early voters in Whanganui in first week of voting

The first week of advance voting has delivered a steady flow of people in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui people have been having their say in the first week of voting for Election 2023, and next week is expected to be even busier.

Polls in select locations opened for advance voting on October 2, allowing people to cast their votes before election day on October 14.

Electoral Commission regional manager for the lower North Island Larissa Anderson said a steady flow of voters had come in throughout the week, and voting places were holding up well.

“We keep an eye on our demand at voting places and make sure we have voting places well-staffed,” she said.

Across the previous three elections, advance voting had become increasingly popular, growing from 29 per cent in 2014 to 47 per cent in 2017 and 68 per cent in 2020.

Anderson said the commission was prepared for similar numbers this year.

“To meet the increased demand for advance voting, we have more voting places open and put voting places in locations that are easy to access on the way to work, study or shopping when people are going about their day-to-day lives.”

The commission did not have a breakdown of how many people have voted so far in Whanganui, but nationally the number of advance votes from October 2-5 was down from the 2020 election, but up from 2017.

Anderson said there was usually an increase in advance voting in the second week going into election day.

Even with the increased numbers of early voters, election day was still expected to be hectic.

“A lot of people like to vote on election day, so we’re still expecting to see many people voting on the day,” she said.

If people are not enrolled to vote, they can still enrol or update their details at vote.nz or at any voting place.

People can vote at any voting place in the country, but may need to fill out another form if they vote outside their electorate.

Advance voting places open from October 2 in the Whanganui electorate

Whanganui

Aramoho School Hall/Pasifika Innovation Hub, 2 Mitchell St

Baden Powell Scout Hall, 13 Swiss Ave

Jubilee Stadium, 228 London St

Whanganui Cook Island Community Hall, 71 Puriri St (corner Harper St)

St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 42 Glasgow St

St Mary’s Church Hall, corner of Guyton Street & Wicksteed St

Hakeke Street Community Centre, 65 Hakeke St

Eltham

All Saints Church Hall, 88 King Edward St

Hāwera

Presbyterian Centre, 35 Argyle St

Pātea

Pātea Old Folks Association Hall, 139 Egmont St

Stratford

Stratford War Memorial Hall, 55 Miranda St

Ōpunake

Ōpunake High School Hall at 149-15 Tasman St will be open for advance voting on October 7-8 from 9am to 5pm, as will Ōpunake Library Plus, 43 Tasman St, from October 9-12 from 9am to 4.30pm and October 13 from 9am to 2pm.

Check vote.nz for opening times of individual voting places.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.