Auckland Records Lowest Voter Turnout For Local Elections

Friday, 10 October 2025, 6:13 pm
Article: Torika Tokalau - Local Democracy Reporter

Tāmaki Makaurau is recording the lowest voter turnouts in the country, with one day left of local elections to go. 

According to stats from Local Government New Zealand, 983,466 votes had been received around the country as of October 9, which represented 28.49% of all eligible votes. 

This figure excluded voting results for Chatham Islands and regional councils. 

Auckland had the lowest voting percentage of 21.8%, followed by Hamilton City with 22.98% and Porirua City with 25.11%. 

According to Auckland Council figures, 261,500 votes had been cast, out of 1,195,533 eligible voters.

Council Governance and Engagement general manager Lou-Ann Ballantyne encouraged people to go vote, if they had not yet. 

“This is your last chance to choose who represents you,” Ballantyne said. 

“Vote today or let someone else choose Auckland's representatives for you.” 

Councils with the highest voting percentage were Buller District (45.75%), followed by Mackenzie District (45.07%) and Gore District (44.69%). 

In Auckland, Ōtara-Papatoetoe (Ōtara) had the lowest voter turnout in the region, with 16.2% votes cast. 

Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Papakura and Howick (Flat Bush) also had low voter numbers. 

“If you still need to pick up voting papers, our teams are out and about today (Friday) to help you cast a special vote.” 

Ballantyne said that at midnight on Friday, election signs and hoardings should be taken down, and the council’s compliance team would be monitoring any breaches of the rules. 

“We're really pleased with all our efforts in helping Aucklanders vote and if they choose not to, we can only assume they're comfortable with how things currently are.” 

When the clock strikes 12 o’clock on Saturday, voting boxes across the country will be sealed shut. Progress results will be released after 3pm, which will reflect 80% to 90% of all votes. 

Preliminary results will be released on Monday October 13, and the final official results declared on Friday, October 17. 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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