Voting opened on Monday 20 July 2026 and closes at 12 noon on Friday 21 August 2026.
There is one position to fill and six candidates. Voting is by Single Transferable Vote (STV).
How STV works
Instead of ticking one candidate, you rank the candidates you support in order of preference:
- Put 1 beside the candidate you most want elected.
- Put 2 beside your second choice.
- Put 3 beside your third choice, and so on.
The count begins with everyone’s first choices. If no candidate has enough support to win, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and each vote for that candidate is transferred to the voter's second preference.
This process is repeated until one candidate is has enough votes to win.
You do not have to rank every candidate
Only rank candidates you would genuinely be comfortable seeing elected. Giving a candidate a lower preference can help them later in the count.
If you do not want a particular candidate to represent Wairarapa, leave the box beside their name blank.
Your voting paper must have one clear 1. After that, use consecutive numbers without repeating or skipping a number. Do not use ticks or crosses.
Vote No. 1 for Michael Birch
Returning your vote
Do not leave it until the last minute. Complete and return your voting paper today:
- Post it. Put your return envelope in an NZ Post or DX Mail box by Friday 14 August 2026.
- Or put your return envelope in an orange voting bin by 12 noon on Friday 21 August 2026.
- Or hand deliver to a district council office by 12 noon on Friday 21 August 2026.