Politics and voting specialist Professor Janine Hayward, of the University of Otago, said Dunedin voters could be confident the use of the STV system meant the city’s election results reflected the wishes of the people with a high degree of accuracy.
Voting papers for Dunedin’s local body elections will soon be in the post, and should arrive in letterboxes by September 23. They must be returned by noon on Election Day, October 8.
Dunedin City Council has used the STV system since 2005, while Otago Regional Council elections are first past the post (FPP).
Under the STV system, voters were casting a single vote, but were doing so by ranking candidates in order of preference — starting with "1, 2, 3, 4" and continuing on as far down the list as they wished, Prof Hayward said.
Voters should bear in mind they were voting for every candidate they ranked, and it was not necessary to rank them all, or even a specific number of candidates.
"Some people think that, since there at 14 councillors, they should rank 14 candidates, but there is no need to do that," she said. "My advice is to think of the candidates that you like, in order of preference, and just rank those people on your voting papers," she said.
It was not possible to vote strategically under STV, "only honestly".
Under STV, all of the number 1 votes get counted, and the least popular candidate is excluded. Some candidates will be elected immediately, having reached the necessary quota of votes.
Their surplus votes are redistributed to the voter’s number 2 candidate, and so on.
"The thing that STV does really well is minimise the wasted votes," Prof Hayward said.
"For our mayoral elections, whoever wins the mayoralty has to get over 50% of the valid votes," she said. "And once all the votes are counted, you can be confident that the people who got elected broadly reflect the preferences of the community."
The 15 councils around New Zealand who were using the STV voting system this time, including the DCC, would have elections that were "really fair and democratic", she said.
Prof Hayward said it was important that voters made the effort to find out as much as possible about the candidates before casting their votes. This could involve reading widely about candidates, or going along to meet the candidates events.
"You can’t go past a meet-the-candidates events for really getting to know what they think on a variety of topics," she said.
Prof Hayward is hoping for a strong voter turnout in this year’s local body elections, given the recent high profile issues such as the proposed reforms of the Three Waters and Resource Management legislation. "We need everyone to have their say on who they want to be working on these issues around the council tables. And that’s before we even start talking about climate change responses."
Candidate meetings/forums
• Dunedin Ratepayers & Householders Association invited DCC and ORC candidates forum tonight, 7pm, Macandrew Bay Hall.
• Mosgiel Rotary hosts a forum for council candidates tonight, from 7.30pm, at Taieri College Arts Centre.
• Dunedin Multi Ethnic Council hosts a Mayoral candidate forum on September 9, from 5pm, Dunningham Suite, 4th floor, City Library.
• Dunedin Ratepayers & Householders Association Mayoral candidates forum, 7pm on September 13, Burns Hall, First Church.
• Unions Otago hosts a Mayoral forum, September 16 from 7pm, Pioneer Women’s Hall, 362 Moray Pl.
• Opoho Church hosts meetings for council candidates on Sunday, September 18 (surnames Ma to W), and Monday, September 19 (surnames A to Mc), from 7pm to 9.10pm, in the church, Signal Hill Rd. The meetings will be chaired by Philip Somerville, and there will be a cash koha opportunity for the Dunedin Night Shelter Trust. Masks must be worn.
• National Council of Women hosts a Mayoral candidates forum on September 21, from 7pm, Salvation Army HQ, Princes St.
— Information: dunedin.govt.nz/council/electoral-information/candidate-events
Special voting papers
If an intending voter had not enrolled or updated their address by midnight on Friday, August 12, they will not receive voting papers in the mail.
Instead, a voter will need to request special voting papers from the nearest city or district council offices.
For the Dunedin City Council that is Anthony Morton (amorton@electionz.com).
