Choosing Electoral Systems in Local Government in New Zealand

Choosing Electoral Systems in Local Government in New Zealand
A Resource Document

Produced by the STV Taskforce May 2002

Date of publication: May 2002

This resource document is designed to help local government elected members and officials as they consider whether or not to change from a First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system to a Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system for the 2004 local elections. It may also be useful to members of the public.

Councils may decide that an STV electoral system would be beneficial to their district or region. Others may decide that FPP is the preferable system. Some councils may choose to watch others try out STV first before deciding whether or not to adopt it. Communities also have a role to play through the consultative processes and through polls initiated by electors or by the council itself.

Whatever councils decide, all territorial authorities will be involved with STV in 2004, as they run the elections for the District Health Boards (DHBs) which must use STV.

The document has been prepared with contributions from a number of expert authors and reviewers. It is not intended to be a textbook and does not attempt to explain the innermost workings of the STV ‘calculator’, nor to test the mathematical aptitude of readers with detailed tables.

The document does not present an argument for or against STV, nor is it a ‘how to’ document. It simply sets out the facts, and tries to describe processes in objective and relatively straightforward terms. It addresses:

why a change must be considered

what STV is

how STV compares with FPP

the impact of DHB elections

the possible cost implications for councils, and

how the STV ‘calculator’ does its job.

We intend to update this document from time to time, as new information comes to hand, and as comments are received from readers. Updated versions will be available on the Internet from www.dia.govt.nz under Local Government Services.

We hope that this resource document will be helpful.

The STV Taskforce
May 2002

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