Papatoetoe by-election: Could turnout drop without Vote on the Go?

The Vote on the Go programme will not be available for the Papatoetoe by-election due to logistical challenges. Auckland Council has clarified that the programme is “resource-intensive” and requires “a lot of” planning to implement, raising questions about how its removal might affect voter turnout and election integrity.

“This [programme] makes it viable to run at a region-wide level during each three-year election, and it has not previously been used for by-elections,” Oliver Roberts, Head of Governance Programmes and Policies at Auckland Council, told The Indian Weekender.

Some candidates standing for the by election have questioned whether the removal of programme will affect accessibility for voters. Labour candidate Vi Hausia pointed out that while more voting options can help, they do not automatically guarantee higher participation.

“In the 2025 local government elections, there were more Vote on the Go locations across Auckland compared to 2022 elections, yet overall voter turnout decreased. Papatoetoe was an exception, being the only local area in Auckland where turnout increased, by around 7%,” Hausia told The Indian Weekender.

“In principle, greater accessibility to voting options can help support voter participation. However, the 2025 elections showed that turnout is influenced by a range of factors, not accessibility alone,” he added.

However, Ōtara-Papatoetoe Action Board spokesperson Kunal Bhalla said that in their view the some community members had enrolled for the “very first time” at a Vote on the Go location. He said the ability for residents to enrol and vote at the same time, in “familiar and trusted community” settings, removed “practical and psychological barriers” for many first-time voters.

Bhalla also noted the programme’s broader role in linking civic participation with everyday community life.

He said that for a suburb like Papatoetoe, where a number of community members attend places of worship and gatherings, the programme served as a bridge between “civic engagement and everyday community life.”

“We also saw an unusually high number of special votes cast in Auckland — exceeding 10,000, which was widely reported as a record in recent local body elections. Special voting facilities and accessible enrolment opportunities contributed to that number,” Bhalla told The Indian Weekender.

While according to Bhalla, the programme supported participation, Labour candidate Raj Pardeep Singh cautioned that accessibility cannot be separated from electoral integrity.

Singh noted the results from the previous elections “raised legitimate questions” about the operation of the programme.

He highlighted specific concerns identified by the District Court in the previous election.

“In the previous election, the District Court identified serious concerns, including voting irregularities, fraud risks, and allegations of vote stealing. Of particular concern were the special votes, where 50 out of 53 special votes (94.3%) were cast for a single group, alongside an unexplained discrepancy of 3,254 additional votes. These figures raise legitimate questions about how the programme operated,” Singh told The Indian Weekender.

Singh also acknowledged the programme’s role in increasing voter participation for some residents.

“That said, the programme did contribute to voter participation, as it provided an additional avenue for residents to cast their votes and offered a mechanism that was particularly well-suited to many in the community,” he added.

Kunal Bhalla maintained that Vote on the go played a “meaningful” role and one that brought more people to vote. “We know that some people claimed that the vote on the go programme or locations weren’t fair in some way, but that’s an argument for more stations,” Bhalla said.

“We share the concern that many people don’t see it as their business to vote and this did expand participation”

“Importantly, the programme appeared to benefit elderly voters who may have mobility constraints,women who may have caregiving responsibilities limiting weekday flexibility, first-time voters who were unsure about enrolment processes, working residents who found weekend voting far more convenient”

“We are concerned that the removal of the “Vote on the Go” option may negatively impact turnout,” he added.

To maintain access during the by-election, Auckland Council confirmed alternative voting options.

Auckland Council said it will have special voting available in two libraries throughout the voting period. Votes can be returned via post or dropped into any of the council’s advertised voting locations.