Auckland Council is thinking about switching from postal voting to in-person polling booths for its 2028 local elections, after voter turnout dropped to its lowest level ever.

Only 29 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in Auckland's 2025 local elections, according to RNZ. That was down from 35.5 percent in 2022 (Our Auckland) and the worst result since the council was created in 2010. Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli called the turnout "abysmal" and said the high number of informal (invalid) votes was also a worry (Stuff).

In September 2025, councillors will vote on whether to keep postal voting, switch to booth voting like in a general election, or use a mix of both for 2028. An Auckland Council report estimated that booth voting over 10 days would cost between $39 million and $55 million. Postal voting is projected to cost $15.5 million in 2028, up from $10.5 million in 2025, mainly because NZ Post has increased its rates (RNZ).

The council said it was looking at ways to bring the cost down, including using its own buildings as polling places and encouraging early voting. The same report said staff believed changing the voting method alone would not be enough to fix low turnout (RNZ).

This is not just an Auckland issue. Local Government New Zealand's Electoral Reform Working Group, led by Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, has recommended running all local elections more like parliamentary elections, including using booths. Smith also argued that councillors and mayors have a conflict of interest when they decide how their own elections are run, and said local elections should instead be run independently by the Electoral Commission (RNZ).

Online voting has at least one supporter. Franklin Local Board member Gary Holmes urged the council to push central government to allow online voting in 2028. He noted that Auckland Council already uses online voting for its Business Improvement District programme ballots (RNZ).

Victoria University of Wellington associate politics professor Lara Greaves said booth voting can create a community feel, with things like sausage sizzles and bouncy castles. She also warned about the security risks of online voting, including hacking and foreign interference, which would be hard for private election companies to manage (RNZ).

Council documents have previously flagged the declining postal service and falling turnout as long-term problems (Auckland Council). Southern local boards have called for civics education in schools, pointing to poor turnout as a concern (Our Auckland). Auckland Council also decided in 2023 to keep using the First Past the Post voting system, where the candidate with the most votes wins, for its elections (Stuff).

There is one piece of history worth noting. When Auckland City introduced a new voting method in 1986, turnout reached 60 percent, twice the previous election (Auckland Council Archives).

The broader context here is that Auckland Council is caught between two costly options. Postal voting is getting more expensive and fewer people are using it, but booth voting could cost up to four times as much. The council's own staff have said that no single change to the voting method will solve the turnout problem on its own. That means other measures, like civics education in schools or campaigns to encourage people to vote, would also be needed, but those are not entirely within the council's control.

Smith's argument about conflict of interest raises a bigger question. If elected members are setting the rules for their own re-election, how independent is that process? Handing oversight to the Electoral Commission would need central government to act, and there is no sign yet that Wellington is willing to do that.

The September vote will show whether councillors are willing to back a much more expensive model, or whether the cost keeps Auckland in the postal system for another round of elections. Either way, the council's own view is that the voting method matters, but it will not fix everything on its own.