Elections

Candidate nominations are open from 19 July 2019 until 16 August 2019 at 12 noon.

Nomination involves the following steps:

• Completion of an official nomination form, sent to the council’s electoral officer.
• Nominations from two people. Candidates cannot nominate themselves, and those who nominate candidates must be over 18 years old and enrolled to vote in the area the candidate is planning to stand.
• Candidates must consent to their nomination going forward.
• A $200 deposit must be paid, which may be refunded depending on election results.
• Candidates must be New Zealand citizens.

There are a number of roles within local government that candidates can stand for:

• mayor
• councillor (Carterton District Council has 8 positions)
• Wairarapa District Health Board
• Masterton Licensing Trust
• Greater Wellington Regional Council (1 position for Wairarapa representative)

Local elections involve competition which is a sign of a healthy democracy.  One of the most important challenges facing a candidate is how to successfully promote themselves and their ideas to the community.

Our advice? Get out there and talk to people – find out how individuals and families in your communities are feeling, what are their needs and wants? Then put together a strategy to address these issues as a leader, the more in-tune you are, the better you’ll be as a leader. 

Promoting yourself can include:

• call people he/she knows;
• distribute leaflets;
• door knock;
• collaborate with local organisations;
• prepare articles for local newspapers;
• pay for press ads;
• provide a profile of his or her background to the local paper;
• address public meetings;
• give interviews to local radio stations;
• create an online presence;
• make sure your email and contact details are clear.

Check out the Vote 2019 candidate handbook put together by Local Government New Zealand.

1 July Enrolment update campaign starts – Electoral Commission19 July Electoral roll open for inspection
19 July Candidate nominations open
16 August Candidate nominations close (12 noon) and electoral roll closes
21 August Public notice of candidates’ names by Electoral Officers
20 – 25 September Voting documents delivered
20 September – 12 October Special voting period
20 September – 12 October Scrutiny and early processing
12 October Voting closes 12 noon
12 October Preliminary results
12 October Collation and analysis of results – LGNZ
17 – 23 October Declaration of results
November Councillor swearing-in ceremonies
Mid December Return of election expenses forms – Electoral Officer