Last night, the cumulative return was sitting at 26.16% — well behind the equivalent stage for the past three elections when the return was above 37% each time.
In 2022, the turnout finished on 48.22% and it was above 45% in 2019 and 2016.
Dunedin City Council deputy electoral officer Robyn Dillon said Dunedin had historically been one of the higher-performing metropolitan centres for voter turnout.
"We know Dunedin people sometimes leave things to the last minute, and returns to date are behind previous years, but there is still time for people to get their voting papers in and have their say," she said.
Voting closes at noon tomorrow.
"There is always a last-minute rush and we are doing everything we can to make sure that voters can have their voices heard."
A "drive and drop" kerbside voting service would run in the Octagon tomorrow morning.
The council said it had chartered a small aircraft to fly last-minute votes to Christchurch to ensure they would be counted as early as possible.
The Otago Daily Times asked readers what had put them off from voting.
City council candidate Amy Taylor said she knew a field of 54 candidates for councillor positions was overwhelming.
"Just pick one or two people — you don’t need to rate 14," Dr Taylor suggested.
Among the other comments were it did not really matter who was elected, people were sick of the "same old candidates" and some voters had little idea what candidates really stood for.
There were also comments about voting papers not being received.
Electoral officer Anthony Morton said there was no evidence of any problems with voter pack deliveries or returns.
"If electors have changed address but not updated their enrolment details, their packs would not be delivered to them," he said.
"As with all council election processes, special voting facilities are available for anyone that hasn’t received a voter pack."
Anybody who believed they had been removed from electoral rolls should contact the Electoral Commission, he said.
The ODT asked University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis for tips for people still yet to vote.
The number of candidates made voting look daunting, he said.
"But don't let the amount of choice overwhelm you," Prof Geddis said.
"Whoever you think would be Dunedin's best mayor, mark them No1. If there's a few others you can live with in that job, then rank them two to whatever.
"Then, for the council, think about which of the 54 people standing you could stand making decisions on your behalf.
"Then rank them consecutively from one for ‘the best’ through to the lowest number for ‘could just about live with them’."
People who did not vote would have "three years of decisions being made about you and your community by a bunch of people you had no say in choosing".
