Voting papers are arriving in letterboxes across Auckland, but turnout is tracking below 2022 and 2019. Photo: Supplied via LDR
South Auckland's participation in local elections is continuing to lag.
Community leaders say poverty, missing papers and disconnection are all barriers but warn that low participation risks silencing Pacific voices for years to come.
To illustrate the stark difference, just 1.3 percent of Manurewa voters have posted their papers compared with nearly 9 percent in Warkworth, just north of Auckland.
Further, Auckland Council figures show that as of 22 September, only 3 percent of Papakura voters had returned their papers, only 2.6 percent for Ōtara, and 3.9 percent for Papatoetoe.
The trend Across Auckland as a whole is down, with returns well below both 2022 and 2019 at the same stage.
Pasifika families are being urged to have their say, with leaders warning low turnout could mute their voices for years. Photo: Supplied / Pasifika Futures
Poverty leaves voting far down the list
Lotu Fuli, Auckland Councillor for the Manukau ward, said the figures were no surprise.
"It's disappointing that it looks similar to past elections. We've seen this pattern before. At the very first super city election in 2010, it was in the 50s and that was considered low back then, and then it's just been sliding ever since."
She said families in South Auckland were consumed by daily financial struggles.
"In areas of deprivation, voting is the last thing on everyone's list when you think about priorities."
Alf Filipaina, her fellow ward councillor, agreed on the causes of low voter turnout.
"They're struggling to put food on the table. They're struggling to keep their family afloat. That's why."
Community leaders say engaging rangatahi is vital to lifting turnout in South Auckland. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council
Obstacles to participation
Filipaina said younger voters faced a generational shift with posting letters in this digital age.
"Stamps are redundant ... that just sort of indicates the situation is, that people think it's second nature to still post letters or anything else, but in fact it's not."
Lotu Fuli added that some residents had not received voting papers.
"You have to tell them, well, you've got to cast a special vote, and it is always more difficult. Some people will just give up."
She warned late posting risked wasting ballots encouraging people to take action now.
Auckland Council is trying to tackle these barriers with its Vote-on-the-Go programme, offering more than 90 sites where residents can enrol and vote instantly at community centres, markets, marae and universities.
Special votes are also available at libraries until polling day.
Libraries are among more than 90 Vote-on-the-Go sites where Aucklanders can enrol and cast their ballot. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council
Democracy at stake in Manurewa-Papakura
In the Manurewa-Papakura ward, turnout is the lowest in the city. Councillor Angela Dalton said the numbers reflected both economic stress and disillusionment with politics.
"People are losing the will. They just want people to work together and get on with the job. It turns people off. They think, well I can't even be bothered voting for anybody."
Dalton reminded residents what was at stake.
"If you value your libraries, your pools, your playgrounds, your sports fields, you need to vote. Otherwise we end up with the wrong people around the table."
Councillor Daniel Newman said low participation was a long-term democratic threat.
"I worry about a low turnout because it reflects a continued drift away from participatory democracy. In saying that, I accept that people have a legitimate choice as to whether or not they vote, and my request is that they do.
"If participation remains low, more and more people will get out of the habit of participating in elections, which is a long-term trend."
Newman said candidates needed to encourage their own communities to vote.
"My message is to please get involved in this local government election as soon as possible."
With just over two weeks left before polls close, Lotu Fuli said Pacific voters in particular should seize the chance to surprise the city.
"Maybe the last message is for everyone to prove us wrong, because people don't expect Pacific people to vote. I want to challenge South Auckland, challenge Pacific, challenge young people, to prove everybody wrong."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
