On this page: Electoral systems, Key dates, Who can vote?, Who can stand as a candidate?, Want to find out more about us?, Contact
One of the most important ways you can take part in the decisions that shape the Waikato region is to get involved in the local authority elections, either by voting for the people who will make those decisions, or by standing for election as a representative on the Waikato Regional Council yourself.
Local authority elections are held on the second Saturday in October every three years. Find out more on the electoral systems webpage.
The local authority elections are conducted under the provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the Local Electoral Regulations 2001 and the Local Government Act 2002.
The local authority elections are undertaken on behalf of the Waikato Regional Council by the eleven constituent territorial authorities within the Waikato region. In addition to their own election (Mayor, Council, Community Board), each territorial authority is responsible for compiling and certifying the electoral rolls, issuing the voting papers, and processing and counting the Waikato Regional Council votes.
The Waikato Regional Council's Electoral Officer will be responsible for accepting candidate nominations and declaring the results for the Waikato Regional Council election.
Who can vote?
You need to be enrolled on either the resident or ratepayer electoral roll for the Waikato region to be entitled to vote.
Resident electoral roll
All parliamentary electors are automatically enrolled on the local authority residential electoral role for the address where they live. If you wish to enrol or update your details, you can:
Ratepayer electoral roll
If a person is on the parliamentary roll in one area and pays rates on a property in another area, they may be entitled to enrol to vote on the non-resident ratepayer roll.
Who can stand as a candidate?
To be eligible to stand as a candidate you must be:
- enrolled as a parliamentary elector anywhere in New Zealand
- a New Zealand citizen
- nominated by two electors whose names appear on the electoral roll for the constituency for which you wish to stand.
Want to find out more about us?
Come to a council or committee meeting. See the council calendar for details of upcoming meetings. These are all open to the pubic to attend unless stated otherwise.
Also see the following useful links:
Contact: