Electoral system

A green icon with voting papers and numbers on the voting papers.

We will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) for the 2025 local election.

Whangārei District has used the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system since 2001. On 24 August 2023, Council resolved to change the electoral system from FPP to STV for the 2025 and 2028 triennial local elections.

You can learn more about First Past the Post on the Department of Internal Affairs website.

First Past the Post (dia.govt.nz)

Single Transferable Vote

Under a Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system, voters rank candidates in their order of preference.

With a Single Transferable Vote system:

  • Electors rank candidates in their order of preference - '1' for your first choice, '2' for your second choice, '3' for your third choice and so on.
  • The number of votes required for a candidate to be elected (called the quota) depends on the number of positions to be filled and the number of valid votes.
  • The necessary number of candidates to fill all vacancies is achieved:
    • First by counting of the first preferences;
    • Then by transfer of a proportion of votes received by  any candidate where the number of votes for that candidate exceeds the quota.

You can learn more about Single Transferable Vote on the Department of Internal Affairs website.

Single Transferable Vote (dia.govt.nz)

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