Voters Hurry Up – Get Your Votes In

Wellington City’s local body election is off to a steady start with 15.3 percent of votes returned in the first eight days of voting.


With just 10 days left to fill in voting papers and return them to the Council, Electoral Officer Ross Bly is urging Wellingtonians to get a move on. "I'm anticipating that once people return from school holidays and have time to consider the candidate options then even more voting papers will come in."

Voting papers must be returned to the Council by midday Saturday 13 October. This means all votes need to be posted by Thursday 11 October or dropped into the ballot boxes at the city's libraries by midday Saturday 13 October.

Mr Bly says the process is running smoothly. There have been a lot of calls coming in – mainly from people who have shifted and are looking for their voting papers. Others have wanted an explanation of the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system.

The voting papers use both the STV and the First Past the Post (FPP) voting systems. The City Council, Community Board and Capital and Coast District Health Board elections are using STV to elect their members. Voters are required to rank the candidates they want in order of preference (ie 1,2,3,4, etc). Greater Wellington Regional Council is using the FPP system, where voters are required to put a tick alongside the candidate/s they want to vote for.

"People should read their papers carefully before casting their vote to ensure they are using the right voting method and voting for the candidates they want to vote for," he says.

Mr Bly says although electoral rolls have closed, people can still cast a special vote. "The last date to enroll is Friday 12 October. I would encourage anyone who has not yet registered to do so and cast a special vote. It's their opportunity to have a say on how the city is run over the next three years."

Electoral roll enrolment forms are available from the main Council building in Wakefield Street, libraries or PostShops. People can also call 0800 ENROL NOW (0800 36 76 56) or visit www.elections.org.nz. People can check and update their enrolment details and enrol online.

Mr Bly says some people who have moved without notifying the Electoral Enrolment Centre of their change of address may have received voting papers for their previous ward. "If they have been at their new address for less than a month they need to vote in their old ward. Otherwise they can apply for a special vote in their new ward."