Dear Editor, My wife did not vote in this (New Zealand) election. She tried. Three times she tried.

The lines for voting, while short, were stationary – she waited in those lines on three occasions for as long as she could before returning to work. As an owner operator she is limited as to the time she can be away, on one occasion she walked out with a very well-known Cook Islands business operator who couldn’t wait any longer either.

I voted, but it took me three times to do so – I work shift work and found a slot when there were no people in front of me (although two people in the room) and that still took over half an hour.

Can the High Commission explain why voting in the Cook Islands is so hard, and in my wife’s case unobtainable. Can they explain why there are only two booths to service all of Rarotonga, and the 100s potentially 1000s of tourists trying to exercise their democratic right. And echoing a poor elderly lady I met struggling up to the polling booth who asked “why are the booths up a steep set of stairs”. Can they explain that? Can they explain how they will get better next time?

(Name and address supplied)

Response – We are sorry this couple had a frustrating experience trying to vote.

The voting place at the High Commission was open from 27 September to 13 October for people to vote in person, and there were three voting booths available. Voting for most people took 5-10 minutes, but we acknowledge that it was busier over lunch times, especially in the last few days of voting.

Voters also had the option of downloading their voting papers from the vote.nz website, completing them, and then either submitting them online or dropping them off at the High Commission. There was the option, too, of requesting a postal/takeaway vote from our office.

We do appreciate this feedback though. After every election, we review our processes to understand where we can do better next time, and we will certainly take these comments into account as we seek to improve the service we provide.

We also acknowledge that the High Commission is not easily accessible for those with mobility issues. We are in the process of securing new premises, including with a view to ensuring that our office is more easy to access. 

Tui Dewes,

New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands