Waipa voters ‘running out of time’
Voting returns in the Waipa District Council election are down by nearly 40 per cent compared to the same time in the 2016 election.
And chief executive Garry Dyet has warned that voters are running out of time to make their votes count and choose who will determine the district’s future for at least the next three years.
As of today, completed voting forms had been received from only 7.76 per cent of eligible Waipā voters – down from 12.66 per cent at the same time in the last election.
Voting is down across all five Waipā wards with returns the lowest in Cambridge. So far, only 6.76 per cent of eligible Cambridge voters – 383 people – have cast a vote to choose who will represent them. Figures are only slightly better in Pirongia (8.16 per cent), Te Awamutu (8.30 per cent), Maungatautari (8.5 per cent) and Kakepuku (9.43 per cent).
There is no election this year for the Waipā mayoralty with incumbent Jim Mylchreest returned unopposed.
Dyet said he was disappointed at the low level of interest and was urging people to get their voting papers into the post by next Tuesday (October 8) “absolute latest” to ensure they were received in time. Voting papers could also be dropped into Council offices in either Te Awamutu or Cambridge or into the after-hours slots, he said.
Votes will be accepted up til 12 noon on Saturday October 12, but legally cannot be accepted after that. Council offices in Te Awamutu and Cambridge will be open from 9am to 12pm on Saturday October 12 for any last-minute votes.
In 2016, only 38.7 per cent of eligible voters cast a vote in the Waipā elections which elect councillors and community board members to make decisions on behalf of the district.
Nationally, only 43 per cent of eligible voters cast a vote in the 2016 election. Returns in local government elections, which still rely on postal voting, have been declining nationwide since the 1980s.
Dyet said Waipā people who were choosing not for vote “for whatever reason” were allowing their own futures to be determined by other people.
“That just doesn’t make any sense to me. People who think Council has nothing to do with them are simply wrong. Elected representatives make decisions that impact all Waipā residents in one way or another, including around roads, parks and reserves, toilets, dogs, town planning, wastewater, stormwater and water supply,” Dyet said.
He stressed that anyone who hadn’t received voting papers could still make a special vote by ringing the Council and asking for papers.
Information about all Waipā candidates, plus a daily update on returns, is available at here.