Vote
Get ready to vote in the 2025 local government elections. Find out what you need to do to enrol so you can vote to have your say.
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.
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 either the general or Māori electoral roll, you're automatically enrolled to vote in local elections where you live and will receive mail from the Electoral Commission containing your confirmation of enrolment and voting pack.
People who don't live in Kāpiti but own property (non-resident ratepayer electors) can also vote in local elections, but they have to enrol first and do not receive automatic mail from the Electoral Commission. Find out more at Enrol.
About the STV voting method
We use the STV (single-transferable vote) electoral system for Kāpiti Coast District Council elections.
Single Transferable vote uses a preference system rather than a tick system. When you complete your voting documents, you will need to remember it is a number not a tick. You don’t need to number every box, just the candidates you prefer in the order you prefer.
You still only have one vote, but instead of only selecting (ticking) one candidate, 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 11 October 2025.
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 7 October to reach our Electoral Officer in time for your vote to count.
Special voting
If you are eligible to vote but didn’t enrol or update your details before Friday 1 August, you will need to cast a ‘special vote’.
Special votes also 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 1 August 2025 (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 11 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.