Local Elections

Local elections are just around the corner! Here's a wrap up on some of the key information and things to note ahead of the voting period, which kicks off in just under two weeks.

Enrol to vote

Missed the 1 August deadline? No worries, you can still enrol right up until 10 October 2025. Enrol or update your details online now at www.vote.nz.

Māori roll and general roll

If you’re of Māori descent, you can choose your roll when you first enrol, and that decision shapes who you vote for in both local and general elections. You can switch rolls any time except during the three months before a general or local election. To change rolls ahead of Kaipara District Council's 2025 local elections you needed to have done this by midnight 10 July 2025.

For this election, regardless of whether you are on the Māori roll or the general roll you vote for a mayor plus the ward you live in (Wairoa, Otamatea or Kaiwaka-Mangawhai).

For Northland Regional Council elections, Māori roll voters will vote for candidates in its Māori constituency - Te Raki, general roll voters will vote in their general constituency, and all voters (including those in Kaipara) will be asked to vote on whether to keep or remove the Northland Regional Council Māori constituency, Te Raki Māori, for 2028 and 2031.

Voting

The 2025 local elections are run by postal voting, and voting kicks off Tuesday 9 September and runs through to 12 noon Saturday 11 October. There will also be drop-off ballot boxes at local supermarkets, as well as a mobile voting route for the communities outside the main hubs in Kaipara. We will be sharing more on this closer to voting opening 9 September 2025. Remember, if you enrolled after 1 August you won’t get your voting papers in the mail and you will need a special vote.

Electoral system

For this election Kaipara District Council are using First Past the Post (FPP). This means the candidate(s) with the most votes win. You get a tick for each position available - Mayor (1), Wairoa Ward (3), Otamatea Ward (2) and Kaiwaka-Mangawhai (3).

Northland Regional Council also use the FPP system.

Find out more on the 2025 Local Election on the Kaipara District Council website.