Votes continuing to flood in

At the end of Thursday's processing the voter turnout for the 2010 local body elections stands at 20,396 papers returned and represents 53.5% of eligible voters, Invercargill City Council Electoral Officer Graham Low said.

“This figure is higher than the final total for 2007 which was 52.6%.

The level of returns for 2010 is well ahead of the corresponding period for 2004 (final total 54.6%) and 2001 when the final total reached 60.1%,” Mr Low said.

Mr Low said the turnout had been boosted by a large number of younger voters exercising their democratic rights, including one girl who cast her vote on the day of her eighteenth birthday.

To ensure voters who have not returned their papers do not miss the deadline, completed papers should now be delivered to either the Invercargill City Council Civic Administration Building or the Bluff Service Centre before 12 noon on Saturday 9 October.

Papers can also be dropped off at these locations, as both of these facilities will be open on Election Day.

Although electoral rolls have now closed, people could still enrol to vote if they requested special voting papers. The last date to enrol is Friday, October 8.