Ballot boxes get to remote areas in Ōpōtiki district

Ballot boxes take to the street this week to encourage people to vote in the Ōpōtiki District. As long as SH35 remains open, ballot boxes will be available in our coast communities for the first time.

Mobile voting hasn’t been offered before in Ōpōtiki, but council’s Finance and Corporate Services Manager, Peter Bridgwater, said that it was another way to encourage voting and make it as easy as possible for voters, particularly those in the Coast ward.

“It is top of mind with previous covid limitations and of course the recent road closures – it can be a long trip for our Coast communities. It is not as simple as jumping into your car or dropping off your voting papers in your lunch break. So we’re going mobile and taking the ballot boxes out east,” Mr Bridgwater said.

Mr Bridgwater said that although elections are held by postal vote it’s important to make it as easy as possible for people to cast their vote and ensure it doesn’t get forgotten about.

“You should have received your voting documents and candidate information in the post by now, so please read, complete and return them ASAP. Don’t leave it to the last minute! They need to be in the post before 4 October although you can also pop them in a ballot box right up until the close of voting on noon Saturday 8 October,” Mr Bridgwater said.

The current voting returns for the district are still low. By Monday 3 October, daily returns were just 25.5% compared with 35.3% in 2019. By the time voting closes, this usually reaches just over 50% voter turnout across the district (compared with 82% in the last general election). These figures are historically lower in the Coast ward.

“Voter turnout is driven by a lot of factors – how connected people feel to the candidates and the work of council, how competitive the race is, and how easy it is to vote. We want to provide this additional opportunity to impact that last factor and make access to a ballot box a last easy step in the process,” Mr Bridgwater said.

Coast mobile ballot locations:

• Tuesday 4th – Te Kaha Beach Resort from 11am – 2pm - Cancelled due to SH35 closure.
• Wednesday 5th – Waihau Bay Lodge from 11am – 2pm

Preliminary results will be available from 8 October.

For more information visit the council website www.odc.govt.nz/elections