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19 September 2022, 8:52 am
Local council elections are taking place from September 16 to midday October 8, meaning communities can now decide who represents them on Horizons Regional Council for the next three years.
Horizons electoral officer Craig Grant says voting papers will be arriving in letterboxes over the next week. “Voting in local elections means choosing which people get to make decisions that impact communities at a local level,” says Mr Grant. “Decisions Horizons councillors make include the environment, transport, biodiversity, biosecurity, flood protection and emergency management. If any of those are important to you then voting should be too. Mr Grant says before voting it’s important to read the candidate profiles which are included with voting papers. “Further information on those standing can be found online through candidate profiles on places like Facebook or policy.nz. You can also find the candidate statements on Horizons’ website. “When you receive your voting papers, in addition to Horizons’ candidates, there will also be candidates for your city or district council and any relevant community boards or groups. Make sure you read your voting papers carefully and fill in every area that you need too – it can be easy to miss voting for the regional council or even your local council. “Once you’ve decided who you’re voting for, you can drop your papers into your local city or district council, an elections drop-box (locations of these are listed on your local council’s website) or into a standard post box as all voting forms come with a free return post envelope. “If you haven’t registered yet you can still vote, you just need to pop into your local city or district council during opening hours between Friday 16 September and midday 8 Saturday October to cast a special vote. “If you’ve registered but your voting papers don’t show up by September 21 you’ll need to visit or call your local city or district council. Finally, if someone else’s voting papers turn up in the mail and they do not belong to anyone in the household, write GNA (Gone No Address) and put them back in the mail.” For more information head to elections.horizons.govt.nz.