A report from Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) says that replacing postal voting with a voting booth system is vital for the future of local body elections.

It's one of 20 draft recommendations made by the Electoral Reform Working Group (ERWG) in its Draft Position paper released today, which includes a raft of proposed changes to help shape the future of local body elections – and increase voter turnout.

LGNZ Electoral Reform Group Chair, Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, says the Group’s Issues Paper released in October last year identified the current voting methods as a key issue facing local body elections.

He believes that New Zealand can no longer continue with postal posting as the status quo.

“Moving to in-person polling booth voting for local elections offers the best opportunity to ensure the future integrity of our voting system,” says Mayor Nick Smith.

“It should be a nationally consistent system that’s as close an experience for the voter as possible to parliamentary elections, with a two-week timeframe in which to vote.

“We believe this could be the single-biggest - and most fundamental - change to local elections that we can make, alongside the Group’s other key recommendations and their focus on lifting voter turnout.

“We know that postal voting is becoming increasingly untenable as a voting method, due to postal volumes collapsing and a range of other factors. While online voting is often suggested as a viable alternative, attempts over the past three decades to trial it for local elections have been unsuccessful - largely due to security or cost issues.

“Another key recommendation is that local and central government moves to a four-year term with elections spaced two years apart, with the upcoming referendum covering both - as such a significant change should be decided by electors.

“This gives people an understandable pattern of elections, and spaces them so the Electoral Commission has time to deliver both.”

With local elections set to take place on 11 October this year, the report calls for the draft recommendations to be made for the 2028 local elections. In the meantime, Mayor Nick Smith says that councils should continue to make short-term improvements to support participation in this year’s local elections.

“Councils should continue to promote standing and voting in their regions, as well as offering alternative drop off points to post boxes - such as ‘orange bins’ at supermarkets and drive through drop off points.

“We saw 86% of voters use council delivered alternatives to post boxes at the recent 2024 Tauranga City Council elections, so there’s evidence that providing convenient drop off points makes it easier for people to deliver their ballot.”

Mayor Nick Smith says that steadily declining voter turnouts in local elections over the past three decades, prompted the formation of the Electoral Reform Working Group to investigate potential solutions.

“A participation rate of less than half of eligible voters is an existential threat to local government. Reform is needed now to strengthen the democratic mandate local government has to represent communities across New Zealand.

“The Electoral Reform Working Group has sought to identify and address these challenges with bold, substantive reforms as well as more minor changes.

“We received 57 submissions back on the Issues Paper we released in last October, including from 19 councils, the Green Party, Local Government Commission, NZ Post and Ministry of Disabled People. We welcome further discussion on these draft proposals.”

The Electoral Reform Working Group is asking for public feedback on the draft position paper, either via the LGNZ website or by emailing electoralreform@lgnz.co.nz.

Consultation on this document closes on Monday 28 April 2025, with a final position paper to be made public in July this year.

Read the Electoral Reform Working Group Draft Position paper here.

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