Voting

Please note, you are only eligible to vote on local body elections for the Queenstown Lakes District Council if you live or own property in the district. 

You can enrol and vote if:

• you are 18 years or older AND

• you are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident AND

• you have lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for one year or more continuously at some point.

You cannot enrol and vote if you are a:

• New Zealand citizen who has not been in Aotearoa New Zealand within the last three years; or

• permanent resident of Aotearoa New Zealand who has not been in Aotearoa New Zealand within the last 12 months.

There are a few exceptions to this (for example, public servants or members of the Defence Force who are on duty outside Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as members of their families).

If you are unsure, please call the Electoral Commission on 0800 36 76 56.

Voting is entirely your choice, but by voting you are adding your voice into the mix.

By voting you are having your say on who represents you on local matters that you care about whether that’s recycling and rubbish collections, parks for exercise and family time, or the future of our district economy. It also means it is more likely there will be elected members in office who align with your values and ideas that you have for our district.

To enrol, check or update your enrolment details, go to www.vote.nz.

Freephone 0800 36 76 56 or free text 3676 to get a form sent to you in the mail.

A recent law change means there is now more opportunity for Māori to choose which electoral roll to be on. The Māori Electoral Option – Te Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori is when Māori voters get to choose whether to be on the Māori roll or the general roll. 

The Electoral Commission Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri recently sent packs to enrolled voters of Māori descent with information about their choice to enrol on the Māori roll or general roll. Anyone who is of Māori descent who would like to change the roll they’re on for the 2023 General Election can do so before midnight, Thursday 13 July.

This is an important choice for anyone of Māori descent. It will determine who they can vote for to represent them and their rohe in this year’s election.  

Further information can be found on Electoral Commission's website.

You will receive voting papers in the mail ahead of the election. You can either post them back or deliver them to a Council office in Queenstown or Wānaka.

You can vote for Mayor of the district.

You can also vote for Councillors of the ward you live in.

There are three wards:

• Queenstown-Whakatipu (four Councillors)

• Arrowtown-Kawarau (three Councillors)

• Wānaka-Upper Clutha (four Councillors)

If you live in the Upper Clutha you can also vote for four members of the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Community Board.

In 2021, a review of the wards in our district was undertaken and changes to the wards were adopted.

Here is a map of our wards.

As part of this review the Wānaka Community Board was renamed the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Community Board.

Yes.

If you live in one area and pay rates on a property in another, then you may qualify to enrol on the ratepayer electoral roll.  If you wish to enrol as a ratepayer elector please complete the form below and return it to the QLDC Electoral Officer via email to jane.robertson@qldc.govt.nz or post to The Electoral Officer, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Private Bag 50072, Queenstown 9348.

Special votes are available during the three-week voting period where electors:

• names do not appear on the final electoral roll, but who qualify

• did not receive a voting document

• spoil or damage a voting document previously posted to them

• names appear on the unpublished electoral roll.

Special votes can be made in person at the Queenstown Council Office at 10 Gorge Road or the Wānaka Office at 47 Ardmore Street.

You will be asked to complete a statutory declaration which details why you need to cast a special vote.

If you are unable to fill in the enrolment form, a support person can help you, or fill in the form on your behalf.

People living overseas can take part but must ensure that they are correctly enrolled with an overseas postal address in order to receive their voting papers. Voting papers for local elections cannot be downloaded.

No. By law, the Electoral Officer cannot issue a voting paper before the official opening day of voting.

Yes. Everyone is entitled to a vote whether you are a candidate or not. 

You can go to the Council offices at 10 Gorge Road, Queenstown or 47 Ardmore Street, Wānaka and be issued with a special vote. 

This requires voters to complete a statutory declaration explaining why they are seeking a special vote, but it is not a complicated process. 

Voters can either vote when they are completing the process in the office or take the papers away and submit them later. 

If you do not live in the district and wish to make a special vote, you can telephone the Electoral Officer (03 441 0499) and ask for a special voting paper to be sent to you. 

In our district voting is First Past the Post.

If you have a PO Box instead of a letter box, your voting papers will be delivered there. Another option is to come in and do a special vote at the Queenstown Council Office at 10 Gorge Road or the Wānaka Office at 47 Ardmore Street.