Vote

Every day, your local Council works to deliver the infrastructure and services that keeps our community ticking. From the roads you take to get to where you’re going, the water you drink from the tap and flush away, that’s your council working for you. Keeping people safe is also part of the gig. We do this through upholding building, environment and health standards, animal management, district emergency management and civil defence preparedness. 

And it doesn’t stop there. A big part of our job is also planning for the future – climate change, growth, technology. Things are constantly changing, and we need to prepare to protect the things we love most about Kāpiti. Our work is governed by the elected members that our community votes in.  Your vote will shape our future.

Your vote counts

Local government is the voice of the community, representing and balancing a range of interests.  

Council meets regularly to make many decisions that impact the day-to-day lives of people in the Kāpiti Coast District. The Council governs a wide range of local services including roads, water systems, rubbish collection, libraries, parks, community centers, dog registration, community and economic development and district planning. 

We partner with mana whenua through Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti, one of the longest lasting partnerships between tangata whenua and local government in New Zealand. It’s a rapidly changing and exciting time to be a part of local government. 

Who can vote

Anyone over the age of 18 who has enrolled to vote can vote in the local elections. 

If you’re enrolled on the electoral roll, you can vote in local elections where you live. 

How to STV

We use the STV (single-transferable vote) electoral system for local elections.  

It’s easy – remember it’s a number not a tick. You don’t need to number every box, just the candidates you prefer in the order you prefer.

You have one vote, but you can indicate your preferences for all the candidates and it can be transferred if your most preferred candidate is so popular they don't need all their votes, or is not popular at all with other voters. For example, under STV, you would write “1” next to the name of your favourite candidate, “2” next to your second favourite candidate and so on.

The number of vacancies and votes determines the quota a candidate must reach to be elected. The formula for deciding the quota is total number of valid votes, divided by the number of vacancies plus one.

Your voting papers will arrive with a candidate booklet. The booklet will contain the names of all standing candidates arranged in order of the position they are standing for. However your voting paper will contain only the elections you are eligible to vote for, and will have only the names of the people you are eligible to vote for.

To be counted, all completed voting documents must be in the hands of the electoral officer or an electoral official by 12 noon Saturday 8 October 2022.

Voting by post is the way to go if you can – it’s easy, quick and free. Votes need to be in the post by Tuesday 4 October to reach our Electoral Officer in time for your vote to count. 

You can also drop your completed voting documents to the following locations from Friday 16 September 2022 to 12 noon Saturday 8 October 2022:

Kāpiti Coast District Council Offices
175 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu
Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm; Sat 1 Oct and Sun 2 Oct 10am–2pm; Sat 8 Oct 8.30am–12 noon

Paraparaumu Library, 9 Iver Trask Place, Paraparaumu
Mon–Tues 9am–5pm; Wed 10am–5pm; Thurs–Fri 9am–7.30pm; Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 10am–2pm; Sat 8 Oct 10am–12 noon

Waikanae Library, Mahara Place, Waikanae
Mon–Fri 10am–4pm; Sat 10am–4pm; Sat 8 Oct 10am–12 noon

Ōtaki Library, 81–83 Main Street, Ōtaki
Mon–Tues 9am–5pm; Weds 10am–5pm; Thurs–Fri 9am–5pm; Sat 10am–4pm; Sat 8 Oct 10am–12 noon

Paekākāriki Library, Wellington Road, Paekākāriki
Mon and Wed 1.30–4.30pm; Sat 10am–2pm; Sat 8 Oct 10am–12 noon

Wellington Region Special Voting Hub
Te Pokapū Hapori Community Centre,
105 Manners Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; Saturday 8 October 9am–12 noon

Special voting

If you are eligible to vote but didn’t enrol or update your details before Friday 12 August, you will need to cast a ‘special vote’.

Special votes have to be cast by people that:

• didn't receive their voting forms in their letter boxes for any reason (may not have been enrolled at the right address, or something went wrong with mail delivery)
• lost or damaged their voting form
• enrolled or updated their details after 12 August 2022 (birthday after that date, or missed the cut off)
• are on the unpublished roll.

Casting a special vote involves completing a special vote form and a declaration, and returning them together by noon 8 October. They can be posted if there is time, or hand delivered to a vote collection point at one of our libraries or service centres. Forms can be requested by calling 0800 486 486 and will be available at the following times and locations:

Kāpiti Coast District Council Offices

175 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu
Friday 16 September–Friday 7 October, 9am–5pm
Saturday 1 October, 10am–2pm
Sunday 2 October, 10am–2pm
Thursday 6 October, 5–7.30pm
Friday 7 October, 5–7.30pm
Saturday 8 October, 8am–12 noon

Ōtaki Library, 81–83 Main Street, Ōtaki
Saturday 1 October, 10am–4pm

Wellington Region Special Voting Hub
Te Pokapū Hapori Community Centre,
105 Manners Street, Te Aro, Wellington
– Mon–Fri 9am–5pm
– Saturday 8 October 9am–12 noon

If you'll be away during the voting period, contact our electoral official on 04 296 4700 or 0800 486 486, or by emailing [email protected], to discuss and/or arrange for a special vote. 

We will take your details and send special vote papers to the location you'll be, aiming for these to arrive 16–21 September. Please note that we aren't able to control delivery times through the postal service, so are unable to guarantee timing. You'll then need to return your voting paper to us by 12 noon 8 October.

Voting returns to date

At 12pm Saturday 8 October 2022, 19,442 voting documents have been returned to the Electoral Officer for the Kāpiti Coast, which represents 45.1 percent of eligible voters. 

Results timetable

Progress results will be announced on Saturday, 8 October 2022 after 3pm. Progress results will include most of the regular votes submitted through the post or hand-delivered to collection sites during the voting period, but do not account for hand-delivered regular votes received on the final two days of voting (Friday or Saturday), or special votes. Because of this, there is a possibility these results may change.

Preliminary results will be announced on the evening of Sunday, 9 October 2022. Preliminary results include all regular votes received by post of hand-delivered to collection sites. There will still be a number of special votes to count, so there is still a possibility these results may change.

Final results will be announced on Thursday 13 October 2022 once all special votes are processed.

Regular votes are votes cast using the voting papers you received in the mail. Special votes are votes cast by those that didn't receive their voting forms, enrolled or updated their details after 12 August 2022, or are on the unpublished roll.