Whanganui District Council gears up for Election 2022
Published on 03 May 2022
Local government elections are back this year, with Election Day taking place on Saturday, 8 October.
Preparation is already underway at Whanganui District Council and Democracy Manager Kate Barnes says the council is making a few changes for 2022.
She says, “This year we have engaged an external provider to deliver the election for Whanganui and appointed Warwick Lampp of electionz.com as Electoral Officer.
“Moving to a specialist provider ensures the council can deliver a secure and efficient election, even with COVID-19 potentially in the mix.
“Electionz.com has more than 20 years of experience delivering elections for councils and other organisations, and this year will be running voting for over 30 local authorities.”
The council’s new chief executive, David Langford, is excited by the upcoming election campaign. He says, “This is an opportunity for Whanganui residents with a vision for the future of our community to get involved and run for council.
“I encourage potential candidates to learn about what the council does and the challenges ahead in the local government sector. If this sounds like something you want to be involved in, consider running.”
The council has resolved to order candidates randomly on voting papers again this year. This means members of the same household’s papers may look different. All voting handbooks will list candidates alphabetically.
Voting in local government elections throughout New Zealand will continue to be by post in 2022 and the council will have additional voting boxes at busy spots around town so voters will have plenty of chances to get their papers in on time. Candidates for election will however be able to submit their nomination forms online this year, providing greater convenience and accessibility.
Kate Barnes says, “We want to make engaging with this election easy for everyone. Keep an eye out for election news and events later this year to learn about running and voting for council.”
She says this is a great time to make sure your enrolment details are up to date.
You can check your enrolment status online at vote.nz or call the Election Commission on 0800 36 76 56. Ensure you are fully enrolled by 12 August to ensure you get your voting papers in the post.
ENDS