Local government elections are happening throughout New Zealand this year, with voting opening late September and ending 8 October 2022. If you want to have a say in Nelson’s future—either by standing for election or voting—you must first be enrolled to vote.

You are eligible to enrol and vote if you are 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.

You can enrol to vote by visiting vote.nz/enrol-or-update-online/, calling the 24-hour Freephone number 0800 36 76 56 or texting your name and address to 3676 to have an enrolment form sent via mail.

Enrolling to vote also means you can stand for local election for the position of mayor or councillor.

Why stand for election?

People have many different reasons for wanting to stand for council, but most have a strong desire to represent and serve their community.

The mayor and councillors make important decisions that affect all of us today, tomorrow, and for years to come. For Nelson, these decisions involve the everyday services needed to keep our city running, as well as important broader issues such as the health of our environment, flood protection, recreation and community services, emergency management and regional transport.

What’s stopping you?

Every election cycle, councils in New Zealand are asked to help increase democratic participation of traditionally under-represented groups. We want to know first-hand the barriers people in our community face in enrolling, making an informed vote, and standing for Council.

If you want to provide us with your story or ideas, fill in the survey at: shape.nelson.govt.nz/local-election-2022-diversity-and-participation. Feel free to leave your contact details, but you can also fill in the form anonymously.

If you have a desire to represent the views of the people of Nelson, to make Nelson a better place for everyone, and to use your unique skills and knowledge to help our community, then you should consider standing for election. Nelson City Council will be putting out further information about standing for election as the year goes on, but for now, you should first make sure you are enrolled to vote. Only New Zealand citizens who are enrolled to vote are eligible to stand for election.

Key dates for the 2022 local elections:

NOW	Enrol to vote
NOW	Consider standing for election
Friday 15 July 2022	Candidate nominations open
Friday 12 August 2022	Candidate nominations close
Wednesday 17 August	Candidates announced
16 - 21 September 2022	Voting documents delivered
16 September - 8 October 2022	Voting opens
8 October 2022 at 12 noon	Election Day: voting closes midday