The countdown is on with three days to go in the local government elections with nearly a quarter of eligible voters’ papers received for Wellington City.

It’s now too late to post your vote, but you can drop it off at one of the many handy orange bins around Pōneke up until the stroke of midday on Saturday 11 October.

To date, 23.81% of the 161,318 eligible voting papers for Wellington City have been received, with Wharangi/Onslow-Western General Ward leading the charge at 27.97%.

Paekawakawa/Southern General Ward is runner-up with 23.88% as of this morning, Motukairangi/Eastern General Ward is at 23.76%, Takapū/Northern General Ward 22.73%, Pukehīnau/Lambton General Ward 21.15%, and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Ward 20.96%.

Wellington City Deputy Electoral Officer Jennifer Parker says the turn-out of candidates, on-line activity, and reportedly high attendance at community debates shows local elections are alive and kicking – and hopefully that translates to votes.

“It has been a busy campaign, with lots of community engagement, and we’ve also introduced numerous initiatives to encourage voting this year including candidate videos, more accessible materials and voting options, and even unique “I Voted” stickers designed by school students.

“We’ve mobilised a small army of kaimahi to get the message out to vote in this campaign. Whether it’s engaging with university students, market goers, or people new to Wellington, providing information and encouragement through a wide variety of communication channels, getting our libraries and community centres involved, or ensuring the election process is run efficiently and effectively, a lot of hard mahi has gone into making sure every vote counts.”

If you have received your orange envelope, don’t forget to check out all the candidates then fill out the voting form with your preferences for local ward councillor(s), Mayor, and whether we keep or remove our Māori ward beyond 2028.

If for some reason you haven't received your voting papers in the post, have lost or damaged them, you aren’t enrolled (or you are enrolled at the wrong address), or if you’re on the unpublished electoral roll, you will need to cast a special vote.

You can cast a special vote at the five election hubs at Te Awe, Johnsonville, Newtown, Karori, and Kilbirnie libraries during opening hours until midday on Saturday 11 October. (If you’re not enrolled, you need to enrol by Friday 10 October.)

Progress, preliminary and final results will be posted on the Council’s website when they become available atwellington.govt.nz/elections.

Once final results are notified, elected members take office, with the Mayoral and Councillor inauguration and swearing-in ceremony taking place on 30 October.

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