Election overload may have dampened voter response to the referendum on assets sales.
Voting papers for the referendum on state-owned asset sales will start arriving in letter boxes from Friday.
Dunedin electoral officer Dee Vickers said it seemed people might be a bit over the referendum after the local body elections last month.
About 15,000 people had not enrolled for the referendum.
''I think there would have been a bit more attention given to the referendum if it hadn't been held so close to the local body elections,'' Ms Vickers said.
One positive about having the referendum and the elections so close together was people who were already enrolled and had not moved did not have to do anything, she said.
Those who were not enrolled to vote in the referendum had until midnight on Thursday to do so.
If voting papers had not turned up by next Thursday, people should contact the electoral office, Ms Vickers said.
