Fairer or harder? Auckland Council keeps candidates in alphabetical order

Auckland voters will continue to receive local government ballot papers with candidates listed by alphabetical order, despite some councillors labelling it unfair.

Councillors rejected the amendment to randomise candidate names during an Auckland Council Governing Body meeting on Wednesday.

Auckland councillors Sarah Paterson-Hamlin and Julie Fairey supported random ordering, saying alphabetical ballots could advantage candidates whose surnames appeared near the beginning and affect close local board elections.

Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and councillors Lotu Fuli and Ken Turner supported retaining alphabetical ordering, saying it was familiar and simple for voters.

Fuli said random ordering could create another barrier for South Auckland communities, including people for whom English was a second language.

“For people in South Auckland ... for whom English is a second language, there are already many, many barriers to voting,” Fuli said.

Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli said randomising candidate names could create another barrier for South Auckland voters. Photo/File.

“And this would just provide one more barrier, one more challenge.”

She asked whether council officers had examined the effect on people whose first language was not English, as well as Māori, Pasifika and communities experiencing higher deprivation.

Officers said they had not undertaken separate analysis, although local board feedback was consistent with Fuli’s comments.

Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli said alphabetical ordering made it easier for South Auckland voters to find their preferred candidates. Photo/Auckland Council.

Fuli said communities had experienced difficulties finding their preferred candidates when random ordering was used in former Counties Manukau District Health Board elections.

“For me personally, and for me as a person who represents these communities, I cannot support one more challenge, one more barrier that doesn’t need to be put there,” she said.

Simpson said Auckland had used alphabetical ordering at every election since amalgamation and the council report described it as familiar and simple.

“We need to make this as simple as possible,” Simpson said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Turner said the council was already facing poor voter turnout and uncertainty over the cost of the next election.

“We have to give the staff every possible chance to keep this thing smooth and cheap,” Turner said.

Council officers said randomising names would not cost significantly more under postal voting but could make candidates harder to find and voting take longer.

That could increase costs if Auckland moved to voting booths. The council’s voting method will be considered at the next Governing Body meeting on September 29.

Paterson-Hamlin moved an amendment to introduce random ordering, seconded by Fairey.

“If there’s over 5 per cent difference based on where you come in the alphabet, that doesn’t seem like the best way of serving democracy,” Paterson-Hamlin said.

Fairey cited a local board election in which fewer than 10 votes separated the candidate elected to the final position from one who missed out. The unsuccessful candidate’s surname appeared later in the alphabet.

“We seem to potentially be creating or using a system that means in close races, you have an advantage based on your last name,” Fairey said.

Council officers said research found that candidates listed earlier in the alphabet had an advantage, particularly when more than 18 people were standing. However, the research was based on limited data.

Fairey said that when voters had to elect six people but knew only four candidates, they might simply select the next two names listed on the ballot.

The amendment was not carried. Councillors then voted to retain alphabetical ordering, with Fairey and Paterson-Hamlin’s votes against recorded.

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