To vote in the local elections, you need to be enrolled on either the residential or ratepayer electoral roll.
You are eligible to enrol if you:
You can use this online tool to check if you are eligible to receive a ratepayer vote or enrol as a ratepayer elector.
Do you live in one area and pay rates on a property in another area? You may qualify to vote in both areas at the next local authority elections.
The place you live makes you a “residential elector”. This is based on the address you have given previously when enrolling. Your voting documents will be sent to this address.
However, if you also pay rates to a different council from where you live, or you pay rates on a property that has a community or local board different from where you live, you may also be eligible to enrol as a ‘non-resident ratepayer elector’.
In order to vote in a different election from where you live, you need to get onto the ‘ratepayer electoral roll’.
As an individual
You may pay rates on a residential property in another Council area such as a holiday home, rental property, shop, commercial or industrial property.
As a couple or group of people
More than one person may pay rates on the same property in another Council area from where you live, such as partners, joint tenants, or tenants in common who collectively pay rates.
As an organisation
You may pay rates on a property owned by your organisation in another Council area from where you live, such as a firm, company, trust, corporation, society or association.
Only one person can be the ratepayer elector and you have only one vote in this situation.
The person nominated to being the elector must consent to the nomination and cannot be a ratepayer elector for any other property.
The person nominated and the person nominating:
Examples:
My partner and I live in Nelson but have a rental property in Golden Bay.
I live in Invercargill but my company has a building in Motueka.
If you have previously enrolled or were nominated as a ratepayer elector an Enrolment Confirmation Form will be issued in advance of the next local authority elections.
New electoral rolls are compiled every three years for local authority elections.
You are automatically enrolled to vote in the local elections for Tasman District if:
Visit vote.nz or phone 0800 36 76 56 if:
You can also text your name and address to 3676 to have an enrolment form sent via mail.
If you pay rates on a property in a different area to where you live, you may also be eligible to enrol on the non-resident ratepayer roll. You need to apply to be on this roll. Unlike the residential roll, enrolment is not automatic.
A company or society that pays property rates can also qualify as a ratepayer elector.
Non-resident ratepayer enrolment forms are available:
You can use this online tool to check if you are eligible to receive a ratepayer vote or enrol as a ratepayer elector.
The final electoral roll will be displayed at Council offices and libraries. If you wish to check if you are on the roll, please contact the Deputy Electoral Officer.
Every person included on the final roll will receive voting documents via the post.
If you forgot to update your details in time for inclusion on the final roll, you can apply for a Special Vote by contacting the Electoral Officer, and one will be sent out to you.
The Electoral Officer can be contacted during normal working hours by phoning 03 543 8400.
The next local government elections will be held in 2025.
Special votes are available for those electors:
Special votes require the completion of a statutory declaration. This is a legal requirement and protects against possible duplicate voting.
Returned voting documents can be opened and processed (but not counted) during the three-week voting period, prior to the close of voting (sec 80 LEA).
Processing involves opening the envelopes, extracting the voting document and electronically recording the votes for each candidate. Voting documents are kept in secure storage when not being processed. Each voting document is processed twice, the second time by a different operator from the first. This is to check the accuracy of the first processing.
All early processing is carried out in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, who must certify that the whole process has been carried out in compliance with the relevant Acts and Regulations.
The First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system is used for Tasman District Council elections and by-elections.
In the FPP system, electors vote by indicating their preferred candidate(s). The candidate(s) that receives the most votes is declared the winner, regardless of the proportion of votes that candidate(s) received.
For further information regarding Tasman District Council elections and by-elections, please contact:
