Elections

Elections 2019-22

Council conducts elections every three years. The next elections for South Waikato District Council will be held in October 2019. If you are standing for Council it is advisable to attend one or several Council meeting(s) to get a feel for what being an elected member is all about and the work that Council does. The relevant Council and Community Board meeting dates are here.

Keep an eye on this page - detailed information will be added as it becomes available and relevant.

Nominations

Follow this link to find a list of completed South Waikato nominations.

Follow this link to view the South Waikato candidate profiles.

For Waikato Regional Council candidates for the Waihou Constituency follow this link.

What to hear from Candidates?

Wanting to vote, but don't know enough about the Candidates? Pop along to the Meet the Candidate sessions being hosted by community groups around the district. Council can't host Meet the Candidate sessions, but we can list the events we are aware of here:

Thursday 12 September, The Plaza, Putaruru, 1.30pm - for all candidates (Tirau Community Board, Putaruru Ward, Tokoroa Ward and Waikato Regional Council). Organised by Grey Power
Thursday 12 September, The Plaza, 5.30pm - for Putaruru candidates ONLY. Organised by Putaruru Moving Forward/Pride in Putaruru (BA5)
Wednesday 18 September, Arapuni Hall, 7pm - for Putaruru Ward candidates ONLY. Organised by Dean Gittings
Saturday 21 September, Enchanted Cafe, anytime between 10.30am and 12 noon - for Tirau Community Board candidates only. Organised by TCB.
Thursday 26 September, Elim Church, 1.30pm - for all candidates (Tirau Community Board, Putaruru Ward, Tokoroa Ward and Waikato Regional Council). Organised by Grey Power
Wednesday 2 October, South Waikato Sport and Events Centre, 7pm - for all candidates (Tirau Community Board, Putaruru Ward, Tokoroa Ward and Waikato Regional Council). Organised by Rotary
Activate Church is organising a session - details pending

If your community group or organisation is wanting to host and organise a Meet the Candidate session, please contact Kerry Fabrie at Council with the details so that we can add to this list. Council staff cannot help organise the event. Candidate contact details are available here.

Elected unopposed

Mayoral candidate Jenny Shattock, currently Mayor of the South Waikato, is elected as Mayor 2019-22 unopposed.
Tirau Ward candidate Peter Schulte, currently the Tirau Ward Councillor, is elected as Tirau Ward Councillor 2019-22 unopposed.

Unopposed candidates have yet to be sworn in.

Key Election dates

Friday 20 September to Wednesday 25 September - delivery of voting documents
Saturday 12 October - Election Day (voting closes 12 noon)

ENROL to VOTE

Want to vote and not enrolled? ENROL now at this link. If you are not enrolled you will need to cast a special vote.

Not enrolled? Want to VOTE?

If you are not enrolled and you want to vote, you can still do so, but will need to cast a Special Vote. You need to contact the Deputy Electoral Officer on 021 260 9971 and Special Voting papers can be mailed to you.

Or you can cast a Special Vote at the Council office(s). Special Votes can be made at the Council offices in Tokoroa and Putaruru. There is a strict process around Special Votes. Our Deputy Electoral Officer and Customer Service Officers will be able to assist.

Media Statements

Follow this link for all Council's media statements submitted regarding the Elections.

Voting opens soon in 2019 Council elections
Nominations now open for Council elections - submitted 22 July 2019
SWDC promotes Candidate Information Session - submitted Tuesday 11 June 2019
SWDC backs LGNZ Vote 2019 campaign - submitted Monday 20 May 2019

General information - useful documents

FAQs

Check out some Frequently Asked Questions here.

Questions

If you have questions you can contact our Electoral Officer.

Elections systems

Council recently made a decision about the voting system we will be using for the 2019 Local Elections. There are two voting systems available to us in New Zealand - First Past the Post (FPP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV). Council has resolved to remain with FPP - a decision that went unchallenged by our community.

What is First Past the Post (FPP)?

Under the FPP electoral system, the candidate with the most votes wins. This is a very simple method of electing candidates and is widely used throughout the world.

What is Single Transferable Vote (STV)?

Under a STV electoral system, voters rank candidates in their order of preference. A good example to consider is an election to select three councillors for a ward in a council election. Under STV, you would write '1' next to the name of your favourite candidate, '2' next to your second favourite candidate and so on. STV means that you have one vote, but can indicate your preferences for all the candidates. Your vote can be transferred if your most preferred candidate is so popular they don't need all their votes to get in or is not popular at all with other voters.

More detail on FPP and STV can be found here.

Return of Electoral Donations and Expenses

Expenses for Elections are required under the Electoral Act to be publicly available for seven years.

2016-19 Election period data

The 2016 election expenses are below:

Tīrau Community Board - by-election 2019

Expenses for the 2018 Tīrau Community Board by-election are required under the Electoral Act to be publicly available for seven years. Expenses for the by-election are here.

2013-2016 Election period data

The 2013 election expenses are here.

Candidate profiles and contact details