Voting is your choice - but it plays a key role in our democracy. Your vote is important because the people elected are responsible for making decisions about what happens in our community for the next 3 years. They will make important decisions about our services and infrastructure - like our rates, roads, water and community facilities.
Check you're enrolled to vote
You can do this online Enrol to vote
It's important to vote!
Election day is Saturday 11 October 2025, closing at 12noon
Get to know the candidates
Read the Candidates Profiles
A candidate profile booklet will also be included with your voting papers.
Meet the Candidate events can be organised by community groups or organisations. We'll list any community-run Meet the Candidate events that are shared with us.
Candidates may also share information through their own websites, social media, videos, advertising and letterbox drops.
Return your vote - from Tuesday 9 September
You can return your vote by:
- Post your vote
Post it any NZ Post mailbox by Tuesday 7 October to ensure it arrive in time.
- Ballot box
Drop it in any orange ballot box before 12noon Saturday 11 October. Late votes won't be counted, so make sure to get yours in on time.
- Ballot box locations
- Gisborne
- Council's Customer Service, 15 Fitzherbert Street, business hours and voting day 9am - 12noon.
- Paper Plus, Gladstone Rd
- The Warehouse, Customhouse St
- Elgin - Shop N Save
- Kaiti – Kaiti Mall Fresh Choice
- Hicks Bay – KELB Hicks Bay General Store
- Matawai – Matawai Campground Store
- Ruatoria – Four Square
- Te Araroa – Four Square
- Te Karaka – Rangatira Motors
- Te Puia Springs – Te Puia Springs Service Centre, during business hours and voting day 9am - 12noon.
- Tikitiki - Waiapu RSA
- Tokomaru Bay – The Fish Shop
- Tolaga Bay – George and Mildreds Supermarket
- Drive through ballot box on voting day - location TBC
Special votes - who and when
You can cast a special vote if you:
- haven't received a voting pack in the mail by 22 September
- lost or damaged your voting papers
- haven't enrolled to vote on time
- will be travelling during the voting period
- turn 18 on election day and have provisionally enrolled
- are eligible to vote but your name does not appear on the final electoral roll.
You can apply to enrol as a residential or ratepayer elector right up to and including Friday 10 October 2025 – the day before the close of voting.
Special voting
If you're eligible for a special vote, you can request a special voting pack from:
- Council’s Main Office - 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne
- Te Puia Springs Service Centre, - 4746 Waiapu Road, Te Puia Springs
- phone: 0800 922 822
- email: specialvotes@electionservices.co.nz
What's in the special voting pack - the pack includes a special voting document, a voting declaration and 2 envelopes.
All special votes must be completed and returned to the Electoral Officer or an electoral official (at one of the locations above) by 12noon Saturday 11 October 2025.
If you're posting your vote, send it by Tuesday 7 October 2025 to make sure it arrives in time.
Locations and times to cast a special vote
You can cast a special vote at Council's Customer Service Centre in Fitzherbert Street:
- Monday 9 September to Friday 10 October 9am - 4pm (weekdays)
- Saturday 11 October 8am - 12noon
| Date | Time | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September | 9.30am - 10.30am | Te Karaka | Rangatira Motors |
| 22 September | 11am - 12noon | Matawai | Campground Store |
| 30 September | 10am - 12noon | Wharekahika | KELB General Store |
| 30 September | 1pm - 3pm | Te Araroa | Four Square |
| 2 October | 10am - 12noon | Tikitiki | Waiapu RSA |
| 2 October | 1pm - 3pm | Ruatoria | Four Square |
| 3 October | 9am - 12pm | Gisborne | Fresh Choice Kaiti |
| 3 October | 10.30am - 12noon | Gisborne | The Warehouse |
| 3 October | 1pm - 2.30pm | Gisborne | Elgin Shop N Save |
| 3 October | 2.30pm - 4pm | Gisborne | Paper Plus |
| 9 October | 10am - 12noon | Tokomaru Bay | The Fish Shop |
| 9 October | 1pm - 3pm | Tolaga Bay | George & Mildred |
| 10 October | 9am - 10.30am | Gisborne | First Choice Choice |
| 10 October | 10.30am - 12noon | Gisborne | The Warehouse |
| 10 October | 1pm - 2.30pm | Gisborne | Elgin Shop N Save |
| 10 October | 2.30pm - 4pm | Gisborne | Paper Plus |
| 11 October | 9.30am - 10.30am | Te Karaka | Rangatira Motors |
| 11 October | 11am - 12noon | Matawai | Campground Store |
| 11 October | 8am - 12noon | Tokomaru Bay | The Fish Shop |
| 11 October | 8am - 12noon | Te Puia | Service Centre |
Voting papers Q&As
Is it before Monday 22 September 2025 and you believe you're correctly registered on the electoral roll?
Yes - Please wait until the mail has been delivered on Monday 22 September 2025.
If your voting document is not received, then call the electoral office on 0800 922 822 and request a special vote.
Or
Is it after Monday 22 September 2025 and you believe you are correctly registered on electoral roll?
Yes - You'll need to apply for a special vote. See the special vote information below.
Or
Is it after Monday 22 September 2025 and you believe you are not correctly registered on the electoral roll?
Yes - You'll need to complete a Parliamentary Electoral Roll enrolment form. These are available online at www.vote.nz or phone
0800 36 76 56 to have one posted to you with a return envelope.
You will need to apply for a special vote. See the special vote information below.
Voting packs for the local elections will be posted out between Tuesday 9 September and Monday 22 September 2025.
If you're outside of New Zealand during the voting period (9 September to 11 October), you have 2 options:
- ask someone to forward your voting pack to your overseas address
- request a special voting pack, email specialvotes@electionservices.co.nz
include the residential address where you're enrolled to vote and the overseas address where you want the pack sent.
Keep in mind how long it might take for mail to reach you and get back to New Zealand.
Your completed voting pack must arrive to us before 12 noon on Saturday 11 October 2025.
Late votes will not be counted and local election voting papers cannot be downloaded electronically.
You can use an envelope of your own and put the return address and Replypaid number on it.
You won't need to put a stamp on the envelope, if you write the Replypaid number on the envelope and post it in New Zealand.
Replypaid number 4710
The Electoral Office
Gisborne District Council
PO Box 5135
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142.
If you can amend it so that your voting intention is clear, then do so.
If necessary, we can issue you with a special vote, but this will take time and require you to complete a statutory declaration.
You will need to apply for a special vote. See information above on special votes.
Call the electoral office on 0800 922 822
Under the Local Electoral Act 2001, you cannot interfere with or influence any person as to how they should vote.
An elector who is physically impaired, visually impaired or for whom English is a second language, can direct a person to assist them to vote.
The person assisting must only act as directed by the elector.
Telephone voting will be available for electors with disabilities. To access this service, electors will need to call the electoral office on 0800 922 822.
How are candidates elected?
Gisborne District Council uses the Single Transferable Vote System (STV). Instead of ticking the candidates you want to vote for, you rank them using numbers.
Write 1 in the box next to the candidate you most want to win, 2 next to your second choice, 3 for your third and so on. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like.
Do I need to use the number 1?
Yes - you must write the number 1 for your vote to be counted.
If you want this may be the only number you write down.
Do I need to put a number beside all the candidates?
No, you can write as many or as few numbers as you like to rank your preferred candidates - up to however many candidates are standing for election.
You can vote for as many or as few candidates as you want.
You don't need to vote for all the candidates.
Do the numbers need to be in the sequence 1,2,3,4 or can I write them down randomly?
The numbers must be in sequence and there must be only one of each number.
Don’t write any number more than once, such as 1,2,3,3,4,5.
Don’t miss a number to rank your preferences.
STV voting and how it works
STV stands for single transferable vote and is a preferential system of voting where you can rank as few or as many candidates as you like. It is a single vote which can be transferred between candidates to maximise the chance of your vote contributing to the election of at least one candidate and not being wasted.
- If a popular candidate does not need all the votes they receive, a proportion is transferred to the voter’s next preference.
- If a candidate is not popular and receives few votes, those votes are transferred to a voter’s next preference.
In a STV election candidates must reach a certain number of votes to get elected. This is called a quota or an absolute majority (in the case of a single vacancy election such as the mayoralty). The quota is based on the total number of votes in that election and the number of vacant positions (technically a small fraction is added to avoid a tie).
Examples of how the quota is calculated: Ētahi tauira hei tātai i te rahinga pōti:
- In an election with three vacant positions and where there were 4,000 valid votes, the quota would be:
4,000 (votes) divided by 3 (vacancies) + 1 = 1,000
In this example, the quota would be 1,000. - In an election with one vacant position, the quota (absolute majority) would be:
4,000 (votes) divided by 1 (vacancy) +1 = 2,000
In this example, the quota would be 2,000.
The quota (absolute majority) is calculated before the first preferences are counted. It is then recalculated each time more vote transfers are required to enable more candidates to reach the quota and the number of valid votes has decreased because more votes have become non-transferable.
Read the handy FAQ guide for more information
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As a voter, you will elect
- 1 Mayor, elected at large
- 8 Tairāwhiti General Ward councillors or
- 5 Tairāwhiti Māori Ward councillors
Māori ward councillors are elected by those enrolled to vote on the Māori electoral roll.
General ward councillors are elected by those enrolled to vote on the general electoral roll.
Gisborne District Council's area is divided into 2 district-wide wards:
| Ward | Councillors | Resident electors |
|---|---|---|
| Tairāwhiti General Ward | 8 | 23,143 |
| Tairāwhiti Māori Ward | 5 | 11,597 |
| 13 | 34,740 |
Number of electors as at 28 February 2025.
Gisborne District Council is a unitary authority, there's no regional council elections.