​Enrolling to Vote

The next round of elections for local government will take place in October 2022.

To vote in the Local Government Elections you need to be enrolled to vote by the day before Election Day.

If you are a Matamata-Piako resident who needs to enrol, or have a change to your address, or other circumstances, do one of the following:

• complete an enrolment form at any NZ Post Shop
• call 0800 ENROLL (0800 36 76 56)
• visit vote.nz

Maori Roll or General roll?

If you’re of Māori descent and enrolling for the first time, you have an important choice to make. You need to decide which electoral roll you want to be on: the general roll or the Māori roll. The roll you choose decides which electorate you vote in for both the central government and local government elections. 

• If you choose to be on the Māori roll, you will get to vote for the Mayor, and candidates for the Māori Ward
• If you choose to be on the General roll, you will get to vote for the Mayor, and candidates for general wards (Matamata, Morrinsville or Te Aroha)

If you identified that you are of New Zealand Māori descent when you enrolled to vote, you will get a Māori Electoral Option pack in the mail every 5 years (after every census). You then have four months to indicate whether you wish to stay on the same roll, or change rolls for the next 5 years.  The last Māori Electoral Option was held in 2018.

For those already enrolled, the next opportunity to change rolls will be in 2024. Only Māori enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling after having previously been removed from the roll are able to choose to enrol on the Māori Roll in the interim.

To find out more visit: https://www.vote.nz/enrolling/get-ready-to-enrol/general-roll-or-maori-roll/

Everything you need to know about enrolling to vote

• ​Download a PDF in English
• Download a PDF in Te Reo Maaori
• Watch this video in New Zealand Sign Language about how to enrol and vote

Do you live in one area and pay rates on a property in another? You may qualify to vote in both areas at the local authority elections in October 2022.

If you are on the parliamentary roll in one area but pay rates on a property in another area, you may be entitled to enrol to vote on the non-resident ratepayer roll.  Companies, businesses and societies that are ratepayers, may also nominate an elector to vote on their behalf, provided they reside outside of the Matamata-Piako District Council area.

In each case only one ratepayer elector can be nominated, irrespective of the number of properties owned by the firm, company, society, trust, partnership or ratepayer in the Matamata-Piako district.

If you think you may be eligible to enrol or to nominate a person for the non-resident ratepayer electoral roll, you will need to complete an Enrolment Form for Ratepayer Electors  (pdf, 189KB). Alternatively, complete an online version here.

If you live in one area and pay rates on a property in another, you may like to vote in this election. Voting is a way to have your say on what happens in your local community. Here is some information to help you know who you can contact to enrol and ways you might qualify to vote.

There are two types of electors:

Residential Electors
If you are registered to vote on the electoral roll, you are automatically enrolled to vote in local authority elections. You will receive a voting document so that you can vote by post.

Ratepayer Electors
You may also be eligible to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer elector in a council district if both of these apply:

•        you are on the district valuation roll and pay rates in the council district
•        the address where you are registered as a Parliamentary elector is outside that council district.

Your eligibility to enrol or be nominated as a ratepayer elector may also depend on your individual circumstances as by criteria in the Local Electoral Act 2001 and its regulations.

An organisation can nominate one of its members or officers to vote on its behalf
If a firm, company, trust, corporation, society partners, joint tenants and tenants in common collectively pay rates on a property in a council district, one of the group may be nominated to be the ratepayer elector. The person nominating and the nominated person must be registered as Parliamentary electors at addresses outside the council district where the property is located.

You can only enrol once
You can only enrol, or be nominated to enrol, once in a council district, no matter how many properties you own in that council district. Council district includes: a city, district and regional council area; a community board area if established; the area of Auckland Council and the local boards.

New Ratepayer Electors
If you think you may be eligible to enrol or to nominate a person for the non-resident ratepayer electoral roll, you will need to complete an  Enrolment Form for Ratepayer Electors  (pdf, 189KB). Alternatively, complete an online version here. The Electoral Officer will be able to help you with your application.

If you want further information please phone toll free 0800 54 8683 (0800 LG VOTE) from 7 February 2022 to 30 August 2022.