Y’know, it’s not often that I’d ever consider running a Wellington City Council press release in full, but I’m going to do it right now, cos BLOODY HELL, Wellington, get your act together! PS: this is how to work your STV vote, explained quite simply. Now hop to it. 

Voting returns yet to hit 20 percent

Wellingtonians now only have a matter of days to post their voting documents to the Wellington City Council electoral office. A total of 94 candidates are standing for the Wellington City Council, Tawa Community Board, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Capital & Coast District Health Board elections, with six candidates contesting the capital’s mayoralty.

Over the weekend, 2009 votes came in, bringing the total to 26,877. This is almost exactly the same as this time three years ago, when 26,899 votes were returned. However, more people have registered to vote for the 2010 elections than in 2007, so the total is half a percent behind the 2007 elections. Only 19.83 percent of voters have returned their documents, which means there are 108,679 Wellingtonians out there who have yet to vote.

You can still apply for a special vote if you haven’t received your voting paper by now, or if your voting papers are too damaged or spoiled to use. Just head along to the City Council’s Service Centre on Wakefield Street and register for a special vote. The absolute last time people can place their vote in the ballot box is midday, Saturday 9 October. There’s still time to find out about your local candidates. Go to the City Council website, Wellington.govt.nz, or to elections2010.co.nz to check out their profiles [Or check out our Urban Issues tag for the candidates who’ve got in touch with us].