Councillors want no change to voting system

There is unlikely to be any change to the way Waipā’s voters elect councillors and community board members for at least the next two elections.

Councillors unanimously resolved today that for elections in 2025 and 2028 Waipā District Council will continue to use the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system, rather than the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system.

For FPP, the candidates who receive the most votes win.

Under the STV system, voters rank as many candidates as they choose in order of preference. The number of votes required for a candidate to be elected depends on the number of positions to be filled and the number of valid votes cast.

Out of 78 Councils in New Zealand, only 15 Councils used STV voting for the 2022 elections.

To challenge today’s decision, at least five per cent of Waipā electors would need to signal they wanted STV to be considered via a poll. Under the Local Electoral Act, a valid poll demand must be received by Council by February 2024.