NEWS RELEASE
29 August 2008
STV vs FPP poll: voting papers to be mailed out
Voting papers for Wellington City’s STV vs FPP poll are to be mailed to about 132,000 registered voters from next Friday
5 September.
Wellington Electoral Officer Ross Bly is urging Wellingtonians to vote in the poll – which will choose the electoral
system for future City Council elections.
A total of 132,762 electors will receive their voting packs between 5 and 10 September.
“Keep an eye out for the distinctive envelope with the yellow ‘vote-off’ symbol on the front,” says Mr Bly.
He says it’s a good idea to cast your vote and send it back as soon as you can so the voting documents don’t get
forgotten. All voting papers must be back with Mr Bly by midday Saturday 27 September.
The preliminary results of the poll will be announced on Saturday 27 September after all the votes have been counted.
The final results will be declared on Tuesday 30 September.
Mr Bly says the Council is holding a postal poll to determine which electoral system will be used in at least the next
two Council elections to elect the Mayor, Councillors and community board members.
“In a nutshell STV, the electoral system currently in place, is where you rank candidates in your order of preference –
1, 2, 3 and so on - and FPP is where you place a tick beside your preferred candidates.”
“We’ve got plenty of information available on the two systems so registered voters can read up, decide which they prefer
and then cast their vote.”
The poll will be conducted using the FPP system and the result of the poll is binding on the Council for at least the
2010 and 2013 local authority elections.
People who have enrolled on the Council’s electoral roll since 8 August 2008 can apply to the Electoral Officer for a
special vote.
The poll is completely unrelated to the General Election being held later this year.
Information on the two electoral systems and the poll in general is available via the Councils website -
www.Wellington.govt.nz - or by calling the Council on 499 4444.
ends