Three thousand items, including over 600 voting packs, did not reach their intended target.

Locals and postal workers are upset after a 3000 items of mail, including 667 voting forms, were found dumped or hoarded in Wellington.

Electoral officer Warwick Lampp​ said a stack of voting packs had been found unopened and undelivered, affecting 13 streets in Maupuia, a hilltop suburb on Miramar Peninsula with about 1500 residents.

"It looks like the mail's been hoarded, but we won't know until New Zealand Post's investigation is over," he said.

ROBERT KITCHIN/ FAIRFAX NZ Sandra Syme checks her mail in Zaida Way.

A postal worker has been stood down over the incident but Lampp was disappointed NZ Post, which started investigating the incident at the weekend, did not tell him what had happened until Thursday.

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All the voting packs would be delivered back to Maupuia residents, along with a letter of apology from NZ Post, by courier on Friday morning. The standard mail would also be redelivered, with an apology, after sorting.

ROBERT KITCHIN/ FAIRFAX NZ Residents of Maupuia, eastern Wellington, are upset that thousands of pieces of mail never arrived to their addresses after an NZ Post worker dumped nearly 3000 letters and other mail, including voting papers.

NZ Post spokesman Richard Trow said the incident was isolated to the suburb, and the male postie had been stood down pending disciplinary action.

He would not say where exactly the mail and ballot papers had been found, or what state they were in, as the investigation was ongoing.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. There has to be a process, you can't pre-judge."

FAIRFAX NZ Electoral officer Warwick Lampp said he was disappointed it took NZ Post so long to alert him about the missing voting papers.

An Arahanga Gr resident, who did not want to be named, said her family were looking forward to voting, and had been wondering where their papers were.

"We're politically aware and we're interested in what's going on. We've been following all the debates in Wellington.

"We've been chomping at the bit."

FAIRFAX NZ NZ Post is investigating the case, and a postie has been stood down.

Sandra Syme said their neighbours had noticed their missing mail and several of them had called the council, wondering about their voting papers.

"It's disappointing that someone's taken these things, but it's no good fretting over it."

Husband Brandon Syme reckoned the postie must have stashed away his jackpot-winning Lotto ticket.

Another Maupuia resident, who did not want to be named, said she had noticed there was something wrong when her monthly bank statement did not arrive, and friends had told her they had voted already while her papers had not turned up.

She was relieved to hear they were being redelivered so she would not have to cast a special vote. "I would have been concerned, because I had already decided who I was going to vote for."

Voting for the local body elections closes at midday on Saturday, October 8.

POSTIES 'VERY UPSET'

Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa president John Maynard said the stood-down postie was a union member and the case was distressing for his colleagues.

"When this sort of thing happens, the rest of the posties in the branch get very upset because there's a very strong public service culture among posties."

NZ Post took vetting of staff seriously, but Maynard said the Maupuia postie had not been with the company long.

If allegations against the postie were proved, Maynard said the case would probably be an employment matter of breach of trust and confidence, and it would be up to NZ Post to decide how to proceed, or whether to press charges against the man.

Interfering with mail can come with a heavy penalty. In 2013, Queenstown postie Philippa Lindsay was sentenced to 17 months' jail and ordered to pay $30,000 reparation to NZ Post after stealing more than 20,000 items of mail in Wakatipu.