GLEN Eira's deputy mayor has called for voters to go to the polls rather than postal voting in this year’s local election, to stop a repeat of the 2005 election where more than 20 candidates stood for each ward.

Cr Neil Pilling said postal voting encouraged dummy candidates who stood so they could funnel their preferences to a preferred candidate.

Victorian councils must indicate to the Victorian Electoral Comission by February 27 whether attendance or postal voting will be used, ahead of the October 27 local government elections.

In 2008, 70 of Victoria’s 79 councils had postal elections and the remaining nine were attendance.

Cr Pilling said while attendance voting was about $90,000 more expensive to run, it would help ensure each candidate was genuine.

‘‘All you need to do to nominate as a candidate for a postal election is [pay] $500 and [submit] a 500-word statement,’’ he said.

‘‘The effort and requirement to staff all the 12 or 13 polling booths for an attendance election discourages and diminishes the prospects of fake candidates.’’

Bayside council has already resolved to use postal voting. The council’s corporate services director, Sharon Pearsons, said Bayside preferred postal voting because it was cheaper, had higher participation and the community was already familiar with the process as it had been used since 1997.

VEC spokeswoman Sue Lang said the state’s average turnout for postal elections was 76 per cent and 67 per cent for attendance elections in 2008.

Monash University political expert Nick Economou said voter participation was almost always higher in postal elections, particularly in inner-urban areas.

Dr Economou said Glen Eira had a 69 per cent attendance figure in the 2008 election.

He said town planning was becoming a hot election topic, with voters wanting to know how much development their councillors would support in built-up areas.

‘‘We’re seeing more people paying attention to their local planning issues and that can separate candidates,’’ he said.