Less than a quarter of the Bay of Plenty electorate had voted prior to the weekend. Just 21.8 per cent of Tauranga residents had registered their say, 17,527 out of the 56,768 eligible voters. Tauranga City Council deputy electoral officer Yvonne Tatton says voters must post their voting papers by Wednesday for them to be counted.

'If you want to make sure your vote gets in then it needs to be posted by Wednesday.”

Alternatively people can drop their papers in to council headquarters on Willow Street.

If people have misplaced their voting papers then they can come in to the council to cast a special vote says Yvonne.

Ballots must be in the hands of the returning officer at noon on Saturday to be counted.

In the 2007 election the total votes counted for Tauranga City Council was 46.36 per cent.

Read the Monday afternoon figures here.

Read about Western Bay of Plenty District Council vote return numbers here.