Election System

Te pūnaha pōti me ngā whakahoki e whakature ana

Electoral Systems

Council recently made a decision to continue to use the same voting system used in the last election in 2019. 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 New Zealand and 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.