Nelson City Council 2025 local elections quick guide
Voting papers will be delivered between 9 – 22 September 2025
If you're enrolled, please keep an eye on your mailbox for your voting papers between 9-22 September 2025.
Delivery times can vary - not everyone in the same household, street or community will receive their voting papers on the same day, so please do be patient while the votes are delivered.
If you don’t receive your voting papers, please visit Nelson City Council’s Customer Service Centre. We can help to check if you are enrolled and provide you with a special vote.
Māori ward and poll: What you need to know
Background
In 2021, Nelson City Council established a Māori ward, and a Māori ward councillor was elected for the first time during the 2022 local election.
The ward covers the full electoral boundary of Nelson and allows those on the Māori roll to elect a councillor to represent them.
Why is there a poll?
Legislative changes made in 2024 mean that if a Council keeps its Māori ward for 2025, a poll must be held alongside during the local election. Nelson City Council chose to retain its Māori ward.
Voting information
When you vote in 2025, you will need to:
- Rank candidates for mayor and councillor positions in order of preference (Single Transferable Vote)
- Respond to the Māori ward poll by ticking one option (First Past the Post): keep or remove
The results of the poll will be binding on Council and will apply for the 2028 and 2031 elections (and associated Council terms).
Get to know more about your candidates
There are many ways you can find out more about the people who are standing as candidates for Council this year.
Apart from contacting them directly, you can also read about what candidates have said about themselves and watch short videos of the candidates on Council’s website. You can attend meet-the-candidates events organised by community groups to hear more from those standing for election, ask questions, and learn more about their priorities.
An information booklet will be included with your voting papers that will give you some information about the candidates as well.
Where to return your vote? Find your nearest ballot bin or DX mail street box
Drop your vote into one of the orange bins around the city by 12pm, Saturday 11 October. Or in a DX mailbox by Tuesday 7 October. To find your nearest ballot bin or DX mail street box, visit our interactive map here to see where you can return your vote.
You must be enrolled to vote
The last day to enrol is Friday 10 October. You can enrol or make sure your address is up to date by visiting vote.nz and clicking “Enrol or update Online”.
Once you’ve enrolled, you can apply for a special vote to vote in the local elections by visiting Nelson City Council’s Customer Service Centre or click here for more information on how to apply for a special vote.
New telephone dictation service for voters with disabilities
To better support voters who may face barriers to voting independently, Nelson City Council’s election provider, electionz.com has introduced a new voting service for eligible voters, following recent legislative changes.
What is dictation voting and how does it work?
Dictation voting is a confidential and secure service that allows eligible voters to cast their vote by telephone. It is strictly limited to eligible voters only.
Who is eligible to use this service?
You may be eligible to use the service if you believe it is not possible or practicable for you to vote by casting an ordinary vote without hardship or undue inconvenience due to:
- Being blind
- Having a vision impairment that prevents you from marking your voting document without assistance
- Having another physical disability that prevents you from marking your voting document without assistance.
How it works:
- The voting service is available on weekdays between 9:00am to 4:30pm, from Tuesday 9 September to Friday 10 October, inclusive
- Contact the electionz.com call centre at 0800 666 040 to make a request
- Be ready to vote before calling to help ensure a smooth and efficient process
- Upon receiving a request, the Electoral Officer will assess your eligibility and inform you of the outcome.
What happens if your request is successful?
- You will dictate your votes to the telephone dictation assistant
- The votes will be read back to you to confirm accuracy
- Once confirmed, the votes will be cast and cannot be changed.
Note: As this is a new service, demand levels are uncertain. If call volumes are high, callers will have the option to leave a message requesting a call back.
