Featherston Community Board by-election 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 and the full further notice of by-election here.
Key dates
| Activity | Date |
| Notice of by-election | Thursday 26 February 2026 |
| Nominations open | Thursday 26 February 2026 |
| Nominations close | Thursday 26 March 2026, 12noon |
| Voting packs posted out | Friday 1 May 2026 (approximate date) |
| Voting opens | Monday 4 May 2026 |
| Last day to post vote | Friday 29 May 2026 |
| Voting closes | Friday 5 June 2026, 12noon |
| Progress and preliminary results announced | Friday 5 June 2026 |
| Final results announced | Monday 8 June 2026 |
Nominations
Nominations for the vacancy opened on Thursday 26 February 2026 and closed noon Thursday 26 March 2026. Nomination forms are found here and information around what was required for nomination is found here.
Candidates
Nominations have been received from four candidates: Joanna BALDWIN, Claire BLEAKLEY, Karen COLTMAN and Jessica DOBBIE.
As the number of nominations received exceeds the number of vacancies, a voting process is required.
Joanna BALDWIN
Claire BLEAKLEY
Karen COLTMAN
Jessica DOBBIE
Voting
Voting will open on Monday 4 May and close at 12 noon on Friday 5 June 2026. It 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