Voting in Māori wards
About voting in a Māori ward
You must be on the Māori electoral roll to vote for a candidate standing in a Māori ward.
Who can be on the Māori electoral roll?
Only New Zealand Māori and the descendants of New Zealand Māori can choose to be on the Māori electoral roll. Those who are enrolling for the first time can choose if they want to be on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll.
Voting documents will look different
Voting documents will be different than previous local elections for people on the Māori electoral roll. You will be able to vote for:
- the Mayor
- Candidates standing in their Māori Ward, and
- Candidates standing for their Community Board or Local Board.
You will not be able to vote for candidates standing in general wards.
Once elected, all elected members, whether from General or Māori wards, take a formal oath of office to represent the entire community.
How to enrol for the first time
An application for registration as a parliamentary elector can be made online here https://vote.nz/enrolling/enrol-or-update/enrol-or-update-online/
The identity verification needed is a New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity.
If people are not able to enrol online, they can enrol or update their details in other ways, more information can be found here https://vote.nz/enrolling/enrol-or-update/other-ways-to-enrol/ on the Electoral Commission website or they can call 0800 36 76 56 to arrange for forms to be sent to them directly.
How to change rolls
Those who are already enrolled, either on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll, may want to change electoral rolls before the local elections in October 2022. Unfortunately, they will not be able to change electoral rolls this year. The Māori Electoral Option governs the process for changing electoral rolls and this can only be done every five years after each 5-yearly population census. The next Māori Electoral Option is in 2024.
Voting by mail
Voters who are enrolled on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll by Friday 12 August 2022 will receive their voting document in the mail. People can still enrol after this date but they will need to cast a special vote.
The local authority elections are postal elections. Voting documents will be delivered from Friday 16 to Wednesday 21 September 2022 and include a free return envelope.
It is recommended votes be posted back to a street receiver post box by Tuesday 4 October 2022 to ensure councils get them before the close of voting. After 4 October 2022, votes are able to be returned to councils’ secure ballot boxes which they will have set up in council facilities.
More information about this will be on councils’ websites closer to the election. The close of voting is midday on Saturday 8 October 2022.
Get in touch with your Elector Officer
If you have more questions contact your Electoral Officer or Deputy Electoral Officer.