Voter turnout looking strong in the Coromandel

You should have received your ballot papers in the mail, so make sure you return your votes by post or to one of the ballot boxes at all our Council offices by noon on 8 October at the latest.

If you're posting your ballot papers, allow a few days for delivery.

Voting turnout

Voting turnout to date is higher then the level of 2010, when we achieved a final turnout of 61%.

The national average turnout in the 2013 local elections was 42% for council races and 41% for mayoral contests. In our District, the turnout in 2013 was 48%.

Since voting opened on the 16 September, approx 23% or a total of 5,300 people (out of 22,879 registered voters) have returned their voting papers.

This is what the returns look like per ward so far.

Coromandel-Colville - 24% (550 of 2,288 registered voters)
Mercury Bay - 24.2% (1,575 of 6,508 registered voters)
Thames - 21.5% (1,725 of 8,039 registered voters)
Tairua-Pauanui - 26.7% (625 of 2,345 registered voters)

Whangamata - 22.3% (825 of 3,699 registered voters)So choose who you want to represent you and your community in the roles of mayor, councillors and community board members, by filling in the voting papers and returning them by post or by hand to one of our offices.

It's your last chance to put your democratic superpowers to use at the local level for the next three years.

If you haven't received your voting papers, but believe you should have, contact our Electoral Office on 0800 922 822 or check our elections FAQ web page for more information on voting eligibility.

If you're a resident of the Thames-Coromandel District, to vote you need to be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll. You can check if you are enrolled by going to the Electoral Commission website.

If you own a property in the Coromandel but usually live somewhere else, you may still be able to vote in the local elections here as well as your home area. You have to enrol on the Ratepayer Electoral Roll. Call our Electoral Office on 0800 922 822 for more information.

If you own more than one property, you may get more than one vote for councillors and community board members if your properties are in different wards or community board areas. Again, check with Our Electoral Office - they'll be happy to help.

You'll only get to vote for the mayor once though, no matter how many properties you own.

If you're not enrolled you can do it online, or get an enrolment form from any New Zealand Post Shop.

If you enrol now, you will also need to contact our Electoral Office for a special vote. Contact 0800 922 822 to do this.

Many candidates to choose from

We've got 52 candidates vying to represent you as either mayor, councillor, or community board members. Check out their candidate profiles at www.tcdc.govt.nz/nominations2016

Only one candidate has been elected unopposed, Tony Brljevich, councillor for Coromandel-Colville. He was also elected unopposed in 2013.

The mayor's seat, the remaining seven councillor seats in our other three wards and the 20 community board seats in our five community board areas are all contested.

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