Russell
Palmer Political reporter
Voting
is very busy but wait times are short at The Palms in
Christchurch East – and in Milford Sound, residents are
grateful for a democratic road trip.
The Palms
Shopping Centre is one of the busiest voting places in the
country, and polling place manager Jake Preston told
Morning Report that despite the occasional grumble
because of the lines, people are only having to wait up to
12 minutes.
He said most voters were in good spirits
and officials try to keep things moving as much as possible,
including helping those with mobility issues.
“It’s
been very busy to be honest,” Preston said.
“Last
Saturday we ran eight issuing officers, and we had lines of
10 per line … we want to make sure that their vote is done
in the right way and that they can is counted. And so most
people are happy to wait the time.
“Generally, we try
and speed it up as best we can. We move anybody with
mobility issues forward, and people are generally pretty
happy to wait.”
He said the quietest times for The
Palms were between 10am and 10.30am, or between 5pm and
6pm.
Meanwhile, the manager for Te Anau, Robert
Manning, said officials staffed a polling place in Milford
Sound for a day over the weekend, on 31 October.
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He
told host John Campbell officials departed about 9am to
arrive in time for voting from midday until 7 in the
evening, and did not return until about 9.30pm.
“There
are a lot of people working there that can’t travel, and
distance is an issue, so they said ‘it was so great that you
made yourself available and that we could vote, and do it in
our own space’.”
“There was good attendance. The
population, I think, that live there is 122 people
permanently on site, but … there were people that work
there, there were bus drivers that also accessed voting
because they travel in, and a couple of tour guides so yeah,
it was a really, really good opportunity to get
votes.”
He said Te Anau would have seven polling
places on election day – this Saturday.
“A lot of
people are holding out, because Te Anau’s got a new hall at
the school and they want to go and see the new hall – so
they’re going to vote on the day.”
“It’s quite a
tourist spot, and people are travelling so you know we’ve
been capturing quite a few people voting.
“The staff
are locals so they know a lot of the people, the feel really
comfortable coming in, and it’s great,” Manning
said.
“We see families coming in as well and hearing
the banter, because some people have to travel so they all
come in together and it’s really quite a positive vibe in
terms of people wanting to be involved and supporting
democracy,
really.”
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