You have the power to vote in the South Waikato
The nomination period for candidates for the South Waikato local government elections has closed. A candidate list can be found here.
Now it's over to you - the community. You have the power to vote and you are urged to use your power and cast your vote.
"Local elections turnout in New Zealand has been declining since the 1980s. Local voter turnout varies significantly across different age groups and geographic areas but, overall, there are simply not enough New Zealanders currently voting," said Mayor Neil Sinclair. "Last elections saw just 38% of eligible voters in the South Waikato actually casting their vote."
Research conducted by Local Government New Zealand identifies that the main reason why people don't vote is because they don't know enough about the candidates.
Council encourages every eligible voter in the South Waikato to ensure they are enrolled to vote, find out about the candidates and cast their vote.
"If you are unsure about your enrolment details, visit Election.org.nz and confirm your details," said Jude Cuttriss, Council's Deputy Electoral Officer. "The power to vote is in your hands. Use it!"
"Candidate names will be listed on the 2016 voting papers in random order this time and not alphabetical," continued Mrs Cuttriss. "Each paper is printed individually so candidate names on your own voting paper will likely not be in the same order as perhaps your partner's voting paper."
Council encourages everyone in the community to read your voting paper carefully and take care when completing it.
"If you didn't enrol or change incorrect enrolment details before the FINAL electoral roll was printed, you won't receive your voting papers in the mail," reminds Mrs Cuttriss. "But you CAN still vote! You will need to make a SPECIAL VOTE by collecting a voting paper from the Council office in Tokoroa ONLY."
If you're in doubt, check the FINAL electoral roll available at Council offices in Tokoroa and Putaruru, The Dog in Tirau, Tokoroa Library and Tokoroa i-site.
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