FAQs - Elections

The preliminary electoral roll will be compiled during July 2022. Copies of the preliminary electoral roll for the election will be available for public inspection from 8am on Friday 15 July 2022 to 5pm on Friday 12 August 2022 at the following locations:

• Horowhenua District Council offices, 126-148 Oxford Street, Levin
• New Zealand Post Ltd, Levin
• Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, Levin
• Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, Foxton
• Shannon Service Centre/Library, Shannon
• Tokomaru Store and Takeaways Ltd, Tokomaru
• Waitārere Four Square, Waitārere Beach
• Manakau Dairy, Manakau.

Any alterations to the electoral roll, should be made:

• by telephoning 0800 ENROLNOW (0800 367656) or
• by accessing the Electoral Enrolment Centre website on www.elections.org.nz.

You should enrol where you spend the greater part of your time.

Not necessarily. If you are enrolling for the first time you can decide whether you want to go on the Māori Electoral Roll or the General Electoral Roll by signing the appropriate panel on the Parliamentary Elector Enrolment form.

However, if you have already made that choice you will have to wait until the next Māori Option period to change, which occurs following the next census, likely in 2023. The last Māori Option period was in 2018.

You can check your enrolment status on www.vote.nz.

The Electoral Commission will be undertaking a roll update campaign in early July 2022 for the Parliamentary Electoral Roll which forms the basis of our roll for the local authority election.

If you do not receive a letter in the post during late June/early July 2022, the chances are you are not enrolled or your details are incorrect.

Yes, but you need to make sure you have enrolled which you can do provisionally from the age of 17 and it automatically changes when you turn 18.

You will also need to apply for a special vote.

Yes, subject to being eligible to become enrolled as a ratepayer elector and becoming enrolled.

You can find a Ratepayer Enrolment form(PDF, 173KB) on our website or pick one up from the Horowhenua District Council. This should be back in the hands of the Electoral Officer by 12 August 2022 and absolutely no later than 7 October 2022.  If it is after Friday 16 September 2022 also enclose a special voting document and information and advise these should all be sent back together.

If it is easier you can pop into the Council Civic Building and complete the ratepayer enrolment form and have your special vote at the same time.

In no case does this allow you to have two votes at the election.

If you are the sole ratepayer for the property (ie the rate account is only in your name), then you can apply to be the Ratepayer Elector.

If you are a joint ratepayer (ie the rate account is in more than one name), or the rate account is in the name of a Trust or Company etc, you must appoint a nominee to vote on behalf of the joint ratepayers or entity. For the case of companies, corporations, trusts etc., the nominee should be a member or officer of the entity.

Yes, as Horowhenua District Council has established Māori ward.  In this case, this affects who you get to choose from to represent you. Choosing between the Māori electoral roll and general electoral roll is a personal choice and you’ll need to decide which roll best represents your views and interests.

You must be a New Zealand citizen and be a parliamentary elector anywhere in New Zealand.

Other requirements are that:

• You are nominated by two electors in the area/ward you are standing for.
• You or your spouse/partner must not have concerns or interests in contracts over $25,000 with the council.
• If you are subject to a Court Order under section 31 of the Protection of Personal Property Rights Act 1988, you should take legal advice.
• If you are an employee of the council, you must resign before taking up your position as an elected member. The rules of some councils may require you to take leave for campaigning prior to the election.

You do not need to reside in the area (city, district, ward, constituency, community board or local board) that you are standing for.

You do not need any formal qualifications. Elected members come from all walks of life and generally have a desire to serve their community.

You can choose to stand for election for any position in the district council or regional council. You are able to run for mayor, councillor and community board member.

If you choose to stand for more than one position there are some restrictions and rules:

• You cannot stand for both a city council/district council and a regional council.
• Where a council has both an ‘at large’ and wards system of representation, you cannot stand as councillor for both positions.
• You cannot stand as councillor for more than one ward or constituency in a council.

But

• You can stand for councillor and also for member of a community board or local board (but if elected to both positions, you must choose one).
• You can stand for both mayor and councillor.

Yes, if you belong to a political party or other group, you may want to identify with them. However, you don’t have to have any affiliations. If this is your situation, you can identify as, ‘independent’ or leave the space blank when you fill out your nomination form.

If you do have a specific affiliation, the electoral officer may require a letter of consent from the party, organisation or group giving its consent for you to use the affiliation.

You need two people to nominate you, those two people must live in the ward you are standing for.

A nominator must be on the electoral roll for the area (city, district, constituency, ward, community board or local board) for which you are standing, eg if you are standing for election to a specific ward, you must be nominated by two electors from that ward who are on the electoral roll for that ward. You are not able to nominate yourself.

Nominations open on Friday 15 July 2022 and close at 12 noon on Friday 12 August 2022.

Contact your council’s electoral officer for a nomination form or pop in Council’s Civic Building. Your nominators must fill it in. You must agree to being nominated and will also need to sign the form.

You will be able to obtain your nomination form from 15 July 2022 and close on Friday 12 August 2022 at midday. Nominations must be lodged with the electoral officer or an electoral official at the council you are standing for.

Do not leave lodgement until the last day because if there any problems with the details provided there might be insufficient time to resolve them and you could miss out.

No. To be eligible you must be a New Zealand citizen and your name must be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll (anywhere in New Zealand).

You will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the Māori electoral roll within the area of election for which you are standing.

Equally if you are on the Māori electoral roll you can stand in a general ward, and will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the general electoral roll within the area of election for which you are standing.

You will need to pay a nomination deposit of $200 GST inclusive. This deposit applies to each issue (election) you stand for.

The funds must be deposited with the Electoral Officer at the same time your nomination is submitted. It is recommended  you pay the nomination deposit by online/internet banking (or EFTPOS or cash) noting that cheques are no longer accepted.

If you poll more than 25% of the final quota as determined by the last iteration (for STV) or greater than 25% of the lowest polling successful candidate (for FPP elections) you will receive your nomination deposit back.

Only if it is withdrawn before the close of nominations. You cannot withdraw voluntarily after nominations have closed. If you decide to opt out, your name will still appear on the voting document. If you do change your mind and decide not to run for election after you have been nominated, let your electoral officer know who will talk through the issues with you.

However, if you become incapacitated with serious illness or injury and unlikely to be able to perform the functions and duties if elected to office, you can apply to withdraw on those grounds. You will need verification from a doctor and lawyer about your situation. See your local electoral officer if you need more information about this process.

You may provide a candidate profile statement when you lodge your nomination. This is a statement of up to 150 words containing information about yourself and your policies and intentions if elected to office. The profile statement will be included in the voting packs that all electors receive.

If your candidate statement is submitted in Māori and English, the information contained in each language must be substantially consistent with the information contained in the other language. Each language has to be within a 150-word limit.

Your profile statement must be true and accurate. The Electoral Officer is not required to verify or investigate any information included in your statement.

Your profile can include a recent passport size colour photograph.

In addition, your candidate profile statement must state whether or not your principal place of residence is in the area you are seeking election, eg ‘My principal place of residence is in the Lambton Ward’, or ‘My principal place of residence is not in the Lambton Ward’. This is not part of the 150-word limit.

See section 61 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 for more information.

No, not at all for city, district, and regional council elections.

Refer enquiry to HDC Electoral Officer:

Warwick Lampp
Email: horowhenuadc@electionz.com
Phone: 0800 666 048

Contacts for Horizons:

Horizons
Craig Grant
Email: craig.grant@horizons.govt.nz
Phone: 0508 800 800

Three years.

This varies between councils and between roles within a council. Ask your local Electoral Officer about whether the role you want to stand for is full-time or part-time.

Pay and allowances are determined by the Government’s Remuneration Authority. The pay rates vary according to population size and other factors. You can see all the councils remuneration schedules by viewing the Local Government Members (2021/22) Determination 2021.

More information about how the Remuneration Authority determines pay can be found on the Remuneration Authority website.

No, but you must be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll (anywhere in New Zealand) and provide proof that you are a New Zealand citizen.

You can stand for mayor, at large councillor or ward councillor and local/community board member.  However, if elected to more than one position, you will take up the highest ranked position.

You can stand as a member of the governing body (ie Council) and a local/community board if the triennial local election is happening at the same time. However, if you win more than one election, you must take up the highest ranked position.

You cannot stand for both a regional council and one of its constituent district or city councils or a community board.

If you are standing ‘at large’, then you are standing for the whole council area rather than from its wards.

If you are standing for a ‘ward’ these are parts of a council area that have been determined by population and communities of interest. These can be either general wards or Māori wards.

If in a regional council, the term ‘constituency’ is used rather than ‘ward’.

Yes. There are no longer any restrictions on police officers standing for local authority elections, apart from the normal eligibility criteria.

Yes, you can raise funds from donations to help offset your campaign expenses. There is very specific legislation about donations and expenses which you need to abide by.

Refer to the Candidate Handbook for further information.

If you stand for more than one position, the amount you can spend is the highest amount for one position.  You cannot add positions together to allow you to spend more than the limit.

All candidates are required to lodge an electoral donations and expenses return within 55 days after the day on which the successful candidates are declared to be elected (public notice of final results). If a candidate is outside NZ on this day, the return must be filed within 76 days after election result day. If this is not done, the non-return will be advised to the NZ Police.  This return needs to be made before a candidate nomination deposit is refunded (if applicable).

Election campaigning can start at any time and continue up to and including election day.

No, elected members cannot use council resources for their campaigns.

Yes. Councils have policies or guidelines for web and social media use related to campaigning. They will not permit council social media pages to be used by anyone (candidates or members of the public) for electioneering or campaigning in the three months before election day. Councils monitor their websites and take down any campaign related posts.

Election advertising, using any media, must identify either you or your agent. The publication of any advertisements (in any newspaper, periodical, notice, poster, pamphlet, handbill, billboard or card, or broadcast over radio or television) for candidates requires the written authorisation of you or your agent.

The advertisement must contain a statement setting out you or your agent’s true name, or at whose direction, it is published and the street address (not a PO box) of their residence or business. This applies during your entire campaign.

Election signs are permitted on private property (with the owner’s consent). The sign must be erected in a stable fashion, not be a hazard to the public or to traffic safety.

For State Highways, signs must meet Waka Kotahi NZTA rules for any signage.

The Horowhenua District Council allows electoral signage on Council owned land at specified locations in Levin, Foxton, Foxton Beach and Shannon only.

Such signs will be subject to the following limits: 

• Approved sites are shown in the Local Election Signage Policy
• Only one sign per candidate is to be erected per location
• No sign shall be located where it is considered to be a traffic hazard in the opinion of the Council (Council Officer, Electoral Officer or Council contractor).
• Signs may be permitted to be displayed up to two (2) months prior to the Election Day but must be removed within two (2) business days after Election Day.
• On these sites, signs can be erected in accordance with the rules. Ask the local Electoral Officer for more information about your council’s rules or view the rules on HDC website.

Yes, the electoral roll will be open for public inspection at your council’s offices and libraries from 15 July 2022 to 12 August 2022.

The preliminary electoral roll will be compiled during July 2022. Copies of the preliminary electoral roll for the election will be available for public inspection from 8am Friday 15 July 2022 to 5pm Friday, 12 August 2022 at the following locations:

• Horowhenua District Council offices, 126-148 Oxford Street, Levin
• New Zealand Post Ltd, Levin
• Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, Levin
• Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, Foxton
• Shannon Service Centre/Library, Shannon
• Tokomaru Store and Takeaways Ltd, Tokomaru
• Waitārere Four Square, Waitārere Beach
• Manakau Dairy, Manakau.

Any alterations to the electoral roll, should be made:

• by telephoning 0800 ENROLNOW (0800 367656) or
• by accessing the Electoral Enrolment Centre website on www.elections.org.nz.

The elections are by postal vote. Voting documents will be delivered from Friday 16 September 2022 to Wednesday 21 September 2022. Voters can return their vote anytime from when they receive their voting documents. Votes must be received by the Electoral Officer by the close of voting on midday Saturday 8 October 2022.

No, candidates or their assistants should not collect voting documents from electors. Each elector should post or deliver their own voting document to the Electoral Officer.

It is an offence (carrying a fine of up to $5,000 if convicted) to interfere in any way with an elector with the intention of influencing or advising the elector as to how he or she should vote. Candidates and their assistants should be mindful of this particularly if campaigning occurs in facilities such as rest homes or hospitals.

Voting closes at midday Saturday 8 October 2022. Progress results (approximately 90 per cent of votes cast) will be known early that afternoon, with preliminary results known on Sunday morning, 9 October 2022. Final results will likely to be declared on Thursday 13 October 2022. All results will be posted on your council’s website.

All local authority elections will be conducted by postal vote.  Voting documents will be delivered in the mail between Friday 16 September 2022 and Wednesday 21 September 2022.

Before Wednesday 21 September 2022.

Please wait until the mail has been delivered on Wednesday 21 September 2022.  If documents are not received then please call the Deputy Electoral Officer on 06 366 0999.

After mail delivery Wednesday 21 September 2022 or if not enrolled correctly

Check the address on the printed roll to see whether you are correctly enrolled.

You can then apply for a special vote.

Use the original and destroy the special vote. The reason for this is that processing an original voting document is much simpler than processing a special vote (a special vote takes a lot more time and more importantly the elector may not have completed the declaration correctly which would make the special vote invalid), hence our advice/preference that the ordinary vote be returned.

No – Power of Attorney does not apply to voting on behalf of that person.

If they are overseas, you could airmail them to the person or destroy them if that is not practicable.

If they are for an elderly parent who is unable to vote, please destroy them by ripping/cutting them up.

Write GNA (Gone No Address) on the envelope and put them back in the mail.

It is a legal requirement to scan the barcode number to mark the electoral roll that you have voted so we can ensure that we do not receive two votes from the same person.

Envelopes containing a voting document cannot be opened until there is a JP present.  The JP is required to sign off that the processes used by the Electoral Officer met the legal requirements.

The voter’s name is not on the voting document.

When the envelope is opened the only thing the Electoral Officer is looking for is that the vote for each election is valid.

• This means that for First Past the Post they are making sure that the voter’s intention is clear and they have not ticked or marked more than the number of candidates than there are vacancies.
• For Single Transferable Vote it is to make sure that no preference numbers are used more than once or omitted, (eg 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5), and that there is always a number one marked against a candidate’s name.  It should be like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc., in numerical order up to as many preferences as the voter wishes to vote for.

No you don’t have to vote.  You also don’t have to vote for all candidates or for all elections.  But your vote is important because the people elected will be responsible for making decisions about what happens in your community for the next three years.

To help you get to know about the candidates:

• There may be candidate meetings being held if you wish to go and hear what policies the different candidates are advocating for. Watch out for the Horowhenua Chronicle, HDC Facebook page and the HDC website where these will be advertised.
• There is a candidate profile booklet that comes out with the voting documents in which there is a photo and a statement from candidates.
• Candidates may have their own website page, social media page(s), advertise in local newspapers or send out information to letterboxes in your area.
• Local newspaper(s) are likely to cover information about the election.

You can post it but make sure you have them in the mail by Wednesday 5 October 2022 to make sure it gets back to us in time (by 12 noon Saturday 8 October 2022).

However, you can also deliver to one of our voting boxes which will be at HDC Civic Building (126 Oxford Street, Levin) and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (92 Main Street, Foxton) until 12 noon on Saturday 8 October 2022.

You can use an envelope of your own and put the return address and Freepost number on it.

You can vote via a special vote, special votes are open from 16 September 2022 to midday 8 October 2022.

If you can amend it so that your voting intention is clear, then do so and initial the changes.

If necessary, we can issue you with a special voting document, but this will require you to complete a declaration.

Special voting documents will be available from Friday 16 September 2022 to 12 noon, Saturday 8 October 2022 at the Horowhenua District Council’s office, Shannon Library and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.

Special voting documents can be posted directly out to electors. The completed voting paper however, must be in the hands of the electoral officer or the deputy electoral officer by noon on election day, ie 12 noon, Saturday 8 October 2022.

Call through to the Electoral Officer 0800 666 048 or Deputy Electoral Officer 06 366 0999 who may be able to organise for the voting document to be sent to you.

Under First Past the Post (FPP) you can vote for as many candidates as you want but not more than the number of positions available on the voting document.  So if you are electing five councillors then you can vote for up to five candidates. Remember, for FPP you tick the candidates you want to elect.

With Single Transferable Vote (STV) you can vote for all or as many candidates as you wish but these must be in order of your preference and no number can be repeated. Remember for STV, you rank the candidates you want to elect from number 1 onwards.

You can decide not to vote for one or more of the different elections on your voting document.  This does not invalidate all your other votes.

You can only vote for the elections relevant to the area in which you live.  You cannot vote for a candidate for the same city, district or region who is standing in another ward or constituency because you are not an elector of that ward or constituency.

Please call through to the Deputy Electoral Officer on 06 366 0999.

No, your vote remains secret under the required roll scrutiny and counting procedures.

Under the Local Electoral Act 2001, you cannot interfere or influence any person as to how they can vote.

If authorised by a voter who is physically impaired, visually impaired or for whom English is a second language, a person can assist them to vote a directed by the voter. An authorisation to do this should be completed (LER 34).

They are delivered to the District Court and kept for 21 days so that the Court can access them should there be any application for recount or petition for inquiry.

After 21 days, the court is responsible for destroying them.

This is the First Past the Post voting system.  The candidate or candidates that get the most votes win(s).

You should mark those you want to vote for with a tick in the circle.  Do not vote for more than the number of candidates shown in the instructions.

Progress and preliminary results will be announced as soon as possible after 12 noon on Saturday 8 October 2022.

The official results will be announced when the final count is complete and special votes have been checked which will be between Thursday 13 October 2022 – Wednesday 19 October 2022.

Candidates

Will be advised as soon as possible after progress and preliminary results are known.  This may be by email or phone.

The Voters

Progress and preliminary results will be released to the media and placed on our website as soon as possible after noon on Saturday 8 October 2022.

Elected members take up office the day after the official result has been declared by public notice.  However, they cannot act until they have sworn the oath of office which is usually at the first meeting of council.  This first meeting is usually held as soon as practicable after the final election results are known.

Ultimately the elected members’ final responsibility is to the local community.  The Minister of Local Government and the Auditor–General do have a role in ensuring that councils follow the law.

This is set by the Remuneration Authority.  Some expenses are also reimbursed.

The time commitment varies depending on the role and the size of the local authority/community you are representing. Check out our Skills and qualities you need to become an elected member page for more information.

Read the Candidate Handbook available on the website.  Hard copy can be mailed out or collected from HDC offices to find out more.

There is a Mayor and twelve councillors. Five Te Awahou Foxton Community Board Members.

The signs don’t have the required authorisation on them.
The signs have been pulled over.
The signs are bigger than they should be.
In what locations can signs be erected?
When can they be erected and when must they be pulled down?

The Local Election Signage Policy is available on our Local Election Signage Policy page.

For authorisation issues, or questions over content contact the Electoral Officer or Deputy Electoral Officer.

All other matters should be referred to Compliance Manager on 06 366 0999.

Election Day is Saturday 8 October 2022 and voting closes at midday on that day.  The voting period starts on Friday 16 September 2022.

The Electoral Officer has full responsibility for running the election.

Electoral Officer - Warwick Lampp
0800 666 048
horowhenuadc@electionz.com

Deputy Electoral Officer – Ashley Huria
06 366 0999
ashleych@horowhenua.govt.nz

FPP (First Past the Post) for Horowhenua District Council.

Your voting document will have the following issues to vote for:

Horowhenua District Council

One Mayor – elected at large (by the whole district)

Twelve Councillors:

• Kere Kere Ward – two councillors
• Levin Ward – five councillors
• Miranui Ward – one councillor
• Waiopehu Ward – two councillors
• Horowhenua (Maori) Ward – two councillors

Te Awahou Foxton Community Board

Five members.

Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Council (Horizons)

Two members of the Horowhenua/Kairanga Constituency.

These councillors are elected by the electors of the whole district or city – not just by electors from part of the district or city.

Some councils elect all their councillors at large (city or district-wide), while some have councillors who are elected to a specific ward, while others have a mixture of both.

The mayor of a district or city is elected at large.

Regional councillors are elected on a constituency basis.

A councillor:

• Participates in strategic and long-term planning for the whole city/district/region;
• Participates in setting a budget and rates;
• Develops policy across a wide range of activities and services;
• Represents the city/district/region at functions as required;
• Reviews and develops bylaws for the city/district/region;
• Advocates on a wide range of issues;
• Coordinates and forms partnerships with other spheres of government and other agencies;
• Participates in the appointment and performance review of the Chief Executive Officer;
• Acts on all these matters within a legislative and regulatory framework; and
• Monitors the performance of the council organisation.

A Community board member:

• Promotes residents’ issues and initiatives to the board and the city or district council;
• Makes decisions about activities delegated to the community board by the council;
• Monitors the provision of council services and advocates changes as necessary;
• Engages in community development activities in conjunction with council officers;
• Takes a proactive stance anticipating strategies and policies that may be needed;
• Represents the community to other agencies;
• Promotes the role of the community board in the wider community; and
• Works cooperatively with the council.

Some councils have established Māori wards or constituencies. For those councils, members of Māori wards / constituencies are elected by those enrolled to vote on the respective Māori electoral roll; similarly members of general wards / constituencies are elected by those enrolled to vote on the respective general electoral roll.

Horowhenua District Council has a Māori Ward.