In a democracy, voting is our superpower. We get to choose the future. And yet, in the last local body elections in New Plymouth, only 45% of people voted. That is less than half. In my book, that doesn’t count as democracy.
This September, you get to elect people to represent you on Council. The Council are responsible for our libraries, parks, roads, water, and for supporting our community in many other ways. You have a say in who is at the table – these are the people that you can approach if you think the Council can do things differently, do things better. You can choose your representatives, so make sure you get out and vote for someone who can represent you.
Make sure you are registered to vote at the correct address. If you recently received a letter from the Electoral Commission, you’re good to go. If you didn’t you need to update your details before 12 August 2022.
You can update your details at www.vote.nz or call 0800 ENROL NOW.
If you’ve missed the deadline for enrolling, you will need to cast a special vote. Special votes are available from Friday 16 September 2022 to noon on Saturday 8 October 2022 at:
Civic Centre, 84 Liardet Street, New Plymouth; or
by phoning 0800 922 822.
You will receive your voting papers between 16-21 September 2022. Make sure you open them, and have a think about who you want to vote for.
IMPORTANT: Don’t forget about it and leave the envelope on top of the fridge/in a drawer/in the pile of paperwork that you never quite get to.
Complete the voting papers. The election uses a system called Single Transferable Voting (STV). This system lets you rank your preferred candidates.
This election, you have two votes.
If you are enrolled on the General Electoral Roll, you can vote for condidates in your geographic ward: North Ward, Kōhanga Moa Ward or Kaitake-Ngāmotu Ward. If you are on the Māori Electoral Roll, you can vote in the Te Purutanga Mauri Pūrutanga Māori Ward.
Then, everyone gets to also vote for candidates who are standing ‘at large’ or ‘district-wide’ – like me.
Send the voting papers back! Voting closes midday 8 October 2022. You can send them back via post - you need to post them by 3 October 2022 to make sure they arrive in time. Otherwise, you can drop them at the Civic Centre, 84 Liardet Street, New Plymouth.
Stay tuned for the results! Preliminary results will be available 8 October, and final results on 14 October 2022.