Local Body Elections
Local elections are held every three years by postal vote. In South Wairarapa, residents and other ratepayers have the chance to vote for a Mayor and Council, Community Boards, and Greater Wellington Regional Council.
By-election for Featherston Community Board 2026
A by-election is required to fill an extraordinary vacancy for the Featherston Community Board. The vacancy has arisen from the recent resignation of Tui Rutherford.
Read the full public notice here
Read the full further notice of by-election here
Nominations
Nominations for the vacancy opened on Thursday 26 February 2026 and closed noon Thursday 26 March 2026.
Nomination and candidate information
Nomination forms can be found here.
Information around what is required for nomination can be found here.
Also see the following documents for further information and guidance (please note, these were produced for the 2025 Local Body Election, however much of the information is still relevant):
Voting
Voting will open for the Featherston Community Board by-election on Monday 4 May and close at 12noon sharp on Friday 5 June 2026.
The election will be conducted by postal voting using the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system.
Voting packs
Voting packs will be posted out to those who reside in the Featherston Ward around 1 May 2026.
The voting packs will have:
- your voting forms,
- information about the candidates,
- an envelope to post your voting forms back.
You can vote in two different ways:
1. put your vote in the post, you need to do this by Friday 29 May 2026.
2. put your vote in the orange voting bins, at Featherston Library, FreshChoice Featherston, or at the Council office at 19 Kitchener Street, Martinborough. The last day for this will be 12noon on Friday 5 June.
If your voting pack doesn’t arrive you can cast a special vote.
Special votes
You can cast a special vote if you:
- have not received a voting pack in the mail
- have lost or damaged your voting pack
- have not enrolled to vote on time
- are eligible to vote but your name does not appear on the final electoral roll
- are turning 18 after the electoral roll closes but before election day.
Special votes will be available by visiting the Featherston Library, the Martinborough Council office or emailing elections@swdc.govt.nz
A special vote pack includes:
- a special voting document
- a special voting declaration (that must be signed and returned with your voting document)
- two envelopes for either postage or returning via the voting bins.
Request a special voting pack
The packs will be available during the voting period, from Monday 4 May 2026. You can also email elections@swdc.govt.nz to request a special voting pack.
If you would like support to vote at home or to cast a special vote – contact the Deputy Electoral Officer by calling 06 306 9611 between 9am and 3pm or sending an email to elections@swdc.govt.nz
Enrol
Residential electors within the Featherston Community Board area who are not listed on the final electoral roll for this by-election can enrol or amend their enrolment details on the electoral roll on or before 4pm Thursday 4 June 2026:
- Online at www.vote.nz
- By calling 0800 36 76 56 to ask for a form to be sent to you
- By texting your name and address to 3676 to get a form sent to you
- By email request to enquiries@elections.govt.nz
Results
Results for the Featherston by-election are expected from 5 June 2026 and will be available on the South Wairarapa District Council website.
If you have any concerns or complaints, please email the Deputy Electoral Officer in the first instance on elections@swdc.govt.nz or contact the Electoral Officer, Warwick Lampp, South Wairarapa District Council, PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140, iro@electionz.com
Local Body Election 2025
The 2025 Local Body Election was held on Saturday 11 October.
View the Public Notice of 2025 Triennial Local Authority Elections and Poll.
View the final results.
View the pre-election report.
Key dates
| Date | |
| 25 June 2025 | Candidate information presentation |
| 4 July 2025 | Candidate nominations open, electoral roll opens for public inspection |
| 10 July 2025 (midnight) | Final deadline for changing your roll type |
| 11 July 2025 | Pre-election period begins |
| 18 July 2025 | Pre-election report available on website |
| 1 August 2025 (midday) | Candidate nominations close at 12 noon, electoral roll closes |
| 6 August 2025 | Public notice of candidates’ names |
| 16 August 2025 | Candidate election signs can be erected from this date |
| 9-22 September 2025 | Voting documents delivered |
| 9 September 2025 | Voting opens |
| 7 October 2025 | Last day for posting vote by mail. After this date votes must be returned to council’s secure ballot boxes |
| 11 October 2025 | Voting closed at 12 noon, preliminary results available |
| 16-22 October | Final results announced |
Pre-Election Report
The Local Government Act 2002 requires the Chief Executive of each local Council to prepare a pre-election report for voters and candidates independently of elected members. This report should be especially helpful for anyone thinking about standing for South Wairarapa District Council, any of its three Community Boards, and for everyone voting this September and October. It is an opportunity to describe the role of Council, its opportunities, the challenges we face, our priorities, and some of our key achievements.
We hope that by reading it you’ll get a better picture of where we are now, where we want to be and how we are going to get there.
Enrol to vote
Stand for local council
Confirmed candidates
Māori wards and poll
Vote
Full results
The progress, preliminary, and official results for South Wairarapa District Council, following the election on Saturday 11 October 2025, will be linked to from this page as soon as they become available.
Progress results
Not all ordinary votes have been counted yet. Voting papers returned to council offices or orange voting bins on Saturday morning will still be in transit to the Electoral Officer. Progress results are expected to be available on Saturday 11 October from 2pm as reconciliations and quality assurance checks are completed. Results could change.
Preliminary results
All ordinary voting papers have been received and counted, but not all special votes. These will be announced later on Saturday evening (11 Oct) or Sunday (12 Oct) after the last ordinary voting papers that were delivered to Council offices prior to the close of voting have been received and processed. Results could change.
Official results
All ordinary and special votes have been counted. These will be released by Thursday 16 October, once special voting processes have been completed. Results are final.
See 2025 Local Government Elections results published on Electionz website.
Need help?
Phone: 06 306 9611
Email: elections@swdc.govt.nz