Voter turnout has slipped across Southland this year, but one district is bucking the trend.

Gore managed a 54.82% return this election — the twelfth best in the country and an increase on its 52.66% effort last election, not including special votes.

Deputy electoral officer Frances Shepherd said communication, education and encouraging people to have their say all contributed; plus election bins, which the council was keen to keep using.

The average turnout for Southland's four councils was 47.3% this year compared to more than 51% in 2022.

Invercargill reflected that regional trend, with 46.02% of eligible voters having their say in 2025 compared to 53.2% in 2022.

Council deputy electoral officer Michael Morris said it was disappointing to have not reached or passed last election's numbers, but the council was heartened to record the fourth-highest turnout for a city council in the country.

Voting numbers were down in Southland this election compared to 2022. Credit: Supplied

There was no silver bullet to address declining voter turnout across the motu, Morris said, and a range of factors contributed to how many people went to the ballot box.

The council was grateful for those who did vote.

“Democracy is a hard-won right, and the decisions made at a local government level have an impact on us each day,” he said.

In Southland district, voter turnout was 42.26% — a drop from 47.62% last election, not including special votes.22

Council chief executive Cameron McIntosh said the council would have liked a much higher return but they were still pleased to have seemingly exceeded the national average — 39.4% according to figures from Local Government New Zealand.

McIntosh was also happy with Stewart Island/Rakiura’s effort, where two out of three of people voted for their Southland District Council representatives.

He said the council intended to pick up on national initiatives to increase turnout in the future.

At Environment Southland, voter turnout this year was 46.11% compared to 51.85% in 2022 and 52.5% in 2019.

Council general manager people and governance Amy Kubrycht said despite their turnout being consistently higher than many parts of the country, declining community engagement was a concern.

“We’re keen to continue exploring options which would make voting easier, like in-person polling and online voting, as part of wider local government sector talks,” Kubrycht said.

Gore District Council and Southland District Council were unable to provide figures for the 2022 election which included special votes.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air