Local Government New Zealand is calling for a "short, sharp" review into local election voting processes.
It comes after a low voter turnout in the elections with just 36% of eligible New Zealanders casting their vote.
Te Maruata Roopu Whakahaere chairwoman Bonita Bigham told Breakfast the low turnout is indicative of recent trends where voting numbers have been consistently getting lower and lower.
"It is disappointing but it's not unexpected to be honest," Bigham said.
Te Maruata, the Māori Committee, is a sub-committee of the National Council of LGNZ.
Bigham says there's a raft of reasons that contributed to low turnout, mainly how things have evolved since voting systems were first introduced.
"There's a whole different world that we're living in now from when this method of voting was first instilled.
"I guess the reduction on postal systems, the reduction in people being able to access those systems, post offices not being in every small community like that used to be has really impacted the way we look at the world."
Bigham said the digital age is "firmly upon us" which is a significant aspect that needs to be considered when looking to increase turnout in the next local election.
"Reaching out to our younger generation who are digital natives, you know, what the heck is this letter thing about?"
"I think it's really important that we collect not only the data from this election cycle but the anecdotal evidence that we've also been hearing across the country, people not being able to enrol in the role that they wanted to, or council offices not being open when people wanted to drop off forms.
1News' Business Correspondent discusses stagnating local election turnout. (Source: Q and A)
"There are lots of things that need to be looked at, so this review would enable all of those bits of information to come to the table at the same time which would hopefully feed into the current other bit of work that are going on in this space and the future for local government and also the electoral law review."
Asked about voter turnout in lower socioeconomic suburbs like Ōtara in Auckland, Bigham said there's a long way to go before reaching those communities.
"Especially those communities that have potentially been underserved by the system, our Māori communities, our Pasifika communities, our lower socioeconomic communities, who all of their lives and intergenerationally have potentially felt unheard, unseen, unwelcome.
"So you know, encouraging them, our communities and those people to engage, will be a long process and I don't expect that it'll turn around in one cycle but it's a journey definitely worth taking when we look at how many of our community are missing out on having their say," she said.
Also speaking to Breakfast this morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern agreed voter turnout is something that needs to be looked at.
"Reports early on that we've got, in some areas at least, record lows. I don't think that's good for democracy, I know local government want to talk about that issue as well, and in my personal opinion the way we engage with post has changed."
"People just aren't engaging with postal ballots in the way they perhaps did in the past and that's a change we've seen over time," she said.
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