If you’re enrolled, check your mailbox for your voting papers between 9 – 22 September 2025. Not everyone in the same household, street or community will receive their voting papers on the same day so please be patient while votes are delivered.
How to return your vote
Post your voting forms or drop them off at an orange voting bin or voting hub across the city.
Post your vote
Post your completed vote in the freepost envelope using any NZ Post or DX Mail post box. You’ll need to post your vote by 7 October 2025 to ensure it is received on time. Find your nearest NZ Post box or DX Mail box.
Drop off your vote
There are a number of locations across Wellington you can drop off your voting papers.
Orange voting bins
Drop off your forms at one of over 50 orange voting bins across the city. You’ll find bins at Wellington supermarkets, Council libraries, as well as several other locations. Votes can be dropped off in the orange voting bins up to 12 noon on Saturday 11 October.
See places you can drop off your vote
Election and voting hubs
The election hub is based at Te Awe Library, 29 Brandon Street. This hub is open from 9.30am – 5.30pm from 9 September until voting closes at 12 noon on 11 October 2025.
Special voting hubs: Hubs to assist with special voting will be open at the following libraries from 10am – 5.30pm from Monday 6 October until voting closes at 12 noon 11 October 2025:
- Johnsonville Library | Waitohi
- Karori Library | Te Māhanga
- Ruth Gotelieb (Kilbirnie) Library | Te Awa-a-Taia
- Newtown Library | Ngā Puna Waiora
If you need help filling in your voting document
If you’re physically impaired, unable to read or write or are not familiar with the language on the form, you may need help to vote. You can authorise someone you trust to mark the voting document for you following your instructions. If you have questions about how to do this, please contact election@wcc.govt.nz.
You can also come to Te Awe Library, 29 Brandon Street Wellington and get help from electoral officials.
Special voting
Sometimes you might need to cast what’s called a ‘special vote’. You will need to do this if:
- You didn’t receive your voting forms in your letterbox after 22 September
- You lost or damaged your voting forms
- You enrolled after 1 August 2025
- You are on the unpublished (confidential) electoral roll
- Your enrolled address is out of date, and you have been living at a new address for a month or more
Casting is a special vote is easy. Come see the team at the voting hub at Te Awe Library, 29 Brandon Street Wellington. It takes less than five minutes to issue a special vote, and you can vote on site or take it away to vote later. You can also email election@wcc.govt.nz to request a special voting pack. Make sure you do this early in the voting period so you have time to return your vote.
For more information, see: How to cast a special vote
STV voting
Voting for the Wellington City Council elections is done via the single transferable vote (STV) method, where voters rank candidates in order of preference.
You can rank as many or as few candidates as you wish.
On your voting paper, put a ‘1’ next to your favourite candidate, ‘2’ next to your second favourite, and so on.
See more information about how STV works
What can you vote for?
No matter where you live in Wellington, you’ll be able to vote for:
- The mayor
- Your local ward councillor(s): If you’re on the general roll, you’ll vote for councillors in your geographic ward. If you’re on the Māori roll, you’ll vote for one councillor in the Māori ward.
- Regional councillors: You can also vote for councillors on the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Depending on where you live, you might be eligible to vote for:
- Community board members for the Tawa Community Board or the Mākara/Ōhariu Community Board.
If you’re unsure which ward you’re voting in, find your ward on our website.
Māori ward poll
During the 2025 local elections, you’ll also be asked to vote on whether you want to keep or remove the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward. The outcome of the poll will be implemented in the 2028 local election. This question will be included with your voting papers.
Learn more about the binding poll.
Contact us
Electoral Officials
Email: election@wcc.govt.nz