Social media biggest change in local elections, says electoral officer

Warwick Lampp has presided over 11 council elections nationally and five in Rotorua and is adamant this year's local elections are more challenging because of social media.

Rotorua's electoral officer is also looking after the elections for 25 other councils, one regional council and seven district health boards.

So issues which come up during the lead up to the October 8 election are unlikely to faze the election veteran.
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For him the biggest change has come with the rise of social media use by both candidates and the public.

"Social media has become much more prevalent, everything is out in the open and discoverable. People have access to things and can comment on things at their leisure which makes it difficult for people like us to keep track of information and understand where things are coming from," he said.

Later today in Rotorua he will be on hand to provide advice and guidance to prospective candidates at a workshop from 5-7pm at Rotorua Lakes Council Civic Centre.

"I do a lot of presentations to councils around social media issues. People need to be aware of their social media presence and think about where those links go and understand the implications of that and what their presence is and bear that in mind when they are campaigning.

"There are protocols in place for maintaining a level playing field for candidates so candidates can't link to council's social media channels for example because the moment you do that you are using a council resource.

"Under the protocols you can't use a council resource, logo or branding in candidates' campaigning material. That's all about having a level playing field between all of the candidates."

There are some good points about social media too, says Lampp.

"There are lots of opportunities on social media to find out about the candidates and use social media to raise awareness about the process. Local Government NZ and Rotorua Lakes Council are using social media extensively to profile council elections in that demographic who don't generally vote in order to get them to vote."

It is without a doubt a very busy time for Lampp and his team at Christchurch-based Electionz.com

"I'm probably doing a good 10-12 hours a day at the moment, it's about keeping your balance and I take that into account. I've got a good team in place."

Electionz.com will employ 90 extra people during the voting period to process more than 600,000 voting papers at its centralised processing centre in Christchurch, close to both the airport and New Zealand Post's processing centre.

Nominations for candidates for Rotorua Lakes Council, Lakes and Rural community boards and Lakes District Health Board opened on July 15 and close on August 12. Voting papers will be sent out from September 16 and must be received by the electoral officer by noon on Election Day, 8 October 2016.

Lampp estimates he should have a progress result for Rotorua Lakes Council ready by 2pm. Lakes DHB could take longer because it runs under a single transferable vote system which requires a lot more work.

His team won't be finished until about midnight on the Saturday and then will be back on the Sunday to ensure all the voting papers get processed and reconciled.

Watch the You Tube clip of Warwick Lampp

For further information on standing as a candidate visit www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/Vote2016
www.lakesdhb.govt.nz
www.vote2016.co.nz

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