Two Canterbury mayors say it’s time to rethink voting in local elections to boost turnout, backing calls for a shift away from postal voting.

Selwyn’s new mayor Lydia Gliddon and Ashburton’s new mayor Liz McMillan say it should be easier for people to have their say in local government elections.

The pair celebrated big wins, with just under half of voters participating in their regions.

Selwyn recorded its highest voter participation in more than a decade, at 47.9%, but Ashburton hit a record low of 46.2%.

Nationally, just 39.4% of eligible voters cast a ballot, a similar figure to the 2019 turnout.

“Selwyn’s strong turnout shows our community cares deeply about local decisions, but we know we can do better,” Gliddon said.

“I recognise that a significant part of our population did not participate. Many residents shared with me that they left their voting papers at home and wanted to know if they could call in somewhere to cast their vote.

"This feedback highlights an opportunity to improve accessibility and engagement.

“Making voting more accessible, including options for in-person voting, similar to central government elections, could help more residents have their say and strengthen our local democracy.”

McMillan was pleased with her election result but “the low voter turnout is disappointing”.

She said the council tried to make voting easier, with extra orange drop-off bins, two candidate events, and posting candidate videos online.

“From the daily returns, you can see we had a surge in voting in the final week, and the drive-through voting outside Te Whare Whakatere on election day proved popular and were really well received.”

After attending 'Mayors' School' in Wellington this week, McMillan said she was encouraged that Local Government Minister Simon Watts appeared open-minded about future changes.

“Moving from postal voting to in-person voting. While I think online voting would make sense in the future, I’m not sure that it will be the first choice for the next local government elections in 2028.”

Local Government NZ interim chief executive Scott Necklen said the low turnout showed it was time for reform.

Nearly 15% of all ballots were cast into orange bins on the final day — proof that convenience matters, he said.

“New Zealand can no longer continue with the postal voting model.

“Moving to consistent, in-person polling booth voting for local elections — along with introducing a two-week timeframe to vote — would ensure the future integrity of our voting system, by replicating how parliamentary elections are run.”

Voter turnout in Canterbury

Chatham Islands 68.34%

Kaikōura 60.85%

Mackenzie 60.43%.

Waimate 53.21%

Timaru 48.20%

Selwyn 47.94%

Ashburton 46.23%

Waimakariri 42.91%

Hurunui 39.55%

Christchurch 38.12%

By Jonathan Leask