Voters in the West Harbour area have just one more day to return their ballots in the West Harbour Community Board by-election.
Voting closes at noon tomorrow in the by-election, being held to replace long-serving board member Jan Tucker, who died in May.
Ms Tucker, a stalwart former chairwoman of the board for several terms, took the lead on many West Harbour issues over the years, including cruise ship volunteers, the shared pathway alongside State Highway 88 and road safety, among others.
Three candidates are standing in the by-election: Kristina Goldsmith, Jarrod Hodson and Anita Zainey.
Dunedin City Council figures show that, by Wednesday, 1032 sets of voting papers had been returned — equating to 22.58% of the eligible voter base of 4570 West Harbour residents.
West Harbour Community Board chairwoman Francisca Griffin said the low voter turnout for the by-election was disappointing and urged locals to hurry and cast their vote.
‘‘Your vote doesn’t count if it’s still sitting on the bench in your kitchen,’’ she said.
‘‘There’s still time to have your say, if you move quickly.’’
Ms Griffin said by-elections often had a lower turnout than three-yearly local body elections, most probably due to lower awareness in the community.
‘‘However, it is important that candidates get themselves out there and help to inform the local community about who they are and what they represent,’’ she said.
Completed voting forms can be dropped in to the library at Port Chalmers or the customer service centre in the Civic Centre by noon
tomorrow.
If you need to make a special vote, because you are on the unpublished roll or have changed address recently, this can be done at the customer service centre in the Octagon from 9.30am until noon tomorrow.
