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Voting in this year’s local elections is now closed. Photo supplied Auckland Council
The last-minute flurry of residents dropping off their voting papers is now over as the clock has struck midday, with Auckland Council staff sealing all vote boxes across the region.
Those votes are being securely collected and delivered to Election Services headquarters for counting.
They’ll contribute to the preliminary results to be announced on Monday, October 13.
As of Friday, October 10, Auckland’s voter turnout was 23.1 per cent, which is six per cent lower than the turnout in 2022 on the eve before close of voting.
Auckland Council general manager governance and engagement, Lou-Ann Ballantyne, says she’s disappointed with the rate of Auckland’s participation despite the council’s efforts to make voting as accessible as possible.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard people didn’t know who to vote for, and typically, when voters are unsure about candidates or are happy with the status quo, they are likely to abstain from voting, and this could be a reason for the decrease in turnout.
“There is no straight-forward solution to get more Aucklanders voting.
“We’re pleased with the number of vote boxes dispatched and all our efforts to make postal voting more accessible.
“As always, we’ll review our processes to improve future participation.
“Now’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – when we find out who will lead Auckland for the next three years.”
People can look out for progress results in the Auckland and Waikato mayoralties, Franklin ward councillor and Franklin Local Board, Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor and Papakura Local Board, along with North Waikato races to be published on the Times’ website this afternoon.
These will include all votes received by Friday. October 10, reflecting about 90 per cent of all votes cast, and will indicate the provisional winners.
Some races may be tight, with close margins potentially shifting once Saturday morning votes are counted and announced as preliminary results on Monday.
Final results, including validated special votes, will be declared on Friday, October 17.
