Be a voice for your community and Otago’s environment. Nominations close noon, 1 August.
Find out how to standBe a voice for your community and Otago’s environment. Nominations close noon, 1 August.
If you enrolled prior to 1 August 2025, your voting papers will be sent from 9 September.
Votes must be returned by 12 noon Saturday, 11 October 2025 (if putting your vote in the mail, please make sure you allow time for it to get to us).
You can post your voting paper in or place them into one of the Council’s secure ballot boxes — located in public locations, such as libraries, across Otago.
You can vote in the local elections if you are on the electoral roll and live in the Otago region.
If you live outside the Otago region but own property here, you can also vote.
Make sure you are properly enrolled for Otago — this is really important if you have only recently moved here (students, this means you too!)
By voting in your local body elections, you have your say on who will make decisions on Otago's future for the next three years.
Otago Regional Council is responsible for promoting the economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of the region.
Our work covers all of Otago and our focus is on the environment and natural resources:
A regular voting form is preprinted to ensure your vote is anonymous without duplication. While a special vote requires you to fill out a declaration confirming you are legally able to vote and are only making vote.
Some of the reasons people need to put in a special vote include:
If you need to make a special vote, you will need to go to a district council (listed under special voting locations), fill out the declaration form, then complete your voting form. You can then post your vote in the mail or put it into an authorised ballot box.
Special votes can be made in person at the DCC’s Plaza Meeting Room, Ground floor of the Civic Centre in The Octagon.
This election features a range of bright orange secure voting bins for enrolled voters to drop off their completed papers. These can be found at:
Collection Date | Collection Time | Site | Address |
Sat 11 October | Noon | DCC Civic Centre | 50 The Octagon, Dunedin |
Collection Date | Collection Time | Site | Address |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Mosgiel Library | 7 Hartstonge Avenue, Mosgiel 9024 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Dunedin City Library | 110 Moray Place, Dunedin 9054 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | South Dunedin Library | 148 King Edward Street, South Dunedin |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Waikouaiti Community Library | 192 Main Road, Waikouaiti 9510 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Blueskin Bay Public Library | 28 Harvey Street, Waitati 9085 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Port Chalmers Library | Cnr Beach and Grey Street, Port Chalmers, Dunedin 9023 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Bookbuses |
Collection Date | Collection Time | Site | Address |
Sat 11 October | Noon | New World Mosgiel | 10 Hartstonge Avenue, Mosgiel 9024 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Woolworths Mosgiel | 55 Gordon Road, Mosgiel 9024 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Woolworths Mornington | 43 Mailer Street, Dunedin Otago 9011 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | New World Gardens | 6 North Road, North East Valley, Dunedin 9010 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | New World Central City | 133 Great King Street, Central Dunedin, Dunedin 9016 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Woolworths Dunedin Central | 309 Cumberland Street, Dunedin 9016 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | PaknSave | 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin, Dunedin 9012 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Mitre 10 MEGA Dunedin | 350 Andersons Bay Road, South Dunedin, Dunedin 9012 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Edgar Centre | 116 Portmouth Drive, Anderson Bay, Dunedin 9012 |
Sat 11 October | Noon | Countdown Dunedin South | 323 Andersons Bay Road, Dunedin 9012 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Larsons Pharmacy | 216 Main South Road, Green Island, Dunedin 9018 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Otago Polytechnic | Forth Street, Dunedin |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Cafe Maggies | 16 Aberafon Street, Middlemarch 9597 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Dunedin Hospital | 201 Great King Street, Central Dunedin, Dunedin 9016 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Otago University | 362 Leith Street, Dunedin North, Dunedin 9016 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Toitu Otago Settlers Museum | 31 Queens Gardens, Central Dunedin 9016 |
Fri 10 October | Noon | Middlemarch Postal Agency | 19 Swansea Street, Middlemarch 9597 |
Below are the voting locations in Central Otago, including for Special Votes.
Special votes can be made in person at
Voting site closes | Site name | Address | |
---|---|---|---|
Fri 10 October | 5 pm | Cromwell Service Centre | 43 The Mall, Cromwell |
Fri 10 October | 5 pm | Ranfurly Service Centre | 15 Pery Street, Ranfurly |
Fri 10 October | 5 pm | Roxburgh Service Centre | 120 Scotland Street, Roxburgh 9500 |
Sat 11 October | 12 noon | Alexandra Council Office | William Fraser Building, 1 Dunorling Street, Alexandra |
Voting site closes | Site | Address | |
---|---|---|---|
Sat 11 October | 12 noon | Alexandra Service Centre | William Fraser Building, 1 Dunorling Street, Alexandra |
Alexandra Library | 43 Tarbert Street, Alexandra | ||
Alexandra New World | 89 Centennial Avenue, Alexandra | ||
Alexandra Woolworths | 106 Centennial Avenue, Alexandra | ||
Cromwell Service Centre | 42 The Mall, Cromwell | ||
Cromwell Library | 43 The Mall, Cromwell | ||
Cromwell New World | 2 Murray Terrace, Cromwell | ||
Cromwell Fresh Choice | 3/1 Iles Street, Cromwell | ||
Ranfurly Service Centre | 15 Pery Street, Ranfurly | ||
Ranfurly Library | 15 Caulfield Street, Ranfurly | ||
Maniototo Four Square | 1/3 Pery Street, Maniototo, Ranfurly | ||
Roxburgh Service Centre and Library | 120 Scotland Street, Roxburgh | ||
Roxburgh Fresh Choice | 93 Scotland Street, Roxburgh |
Below are the voting locations in Central Otago, including for Special Votes.
Special votes can be made in person during normal business hours from 9 September to 10 October at:
Special voting and collection of votes can be done on Saturday, 11 October until noon at the main Alexandra office.
Special votes can be made in person during normal business hours from 9 September to 10 October at both Queenstown or Wānaka offices. The Queenstown office will be open 8am until noon on Saturday 11 October.
A polling place for the issuing of special voting documents and for the receiving of completed voting documents will be available from Friday 9 September to noon Saturday 11 October at:
On Election Day ordinary votes can be returned, and special votes issued and returned, from 9am to noon at:
Special voting documents will be available from Tuesday 8 September.
Last day to cast your vote is 8am to 12 noon on Saturday 11 October 2025.
Ballots may also be posted from any NZ Post Post Box located across the region.
For help finding your nearest Post Box, use the NZ Post locator.
Please make sure you allow time for the post to get to us.
Voters rank candidates in order of preference. Under STV, you would write “1” next to the name of your favourite candidate, “2” next to your second favourite candidate and so on until you have ranked your preferences. You do not need to rank all candidates, just those you prefer most.
You still only have one vote, but by showing your preference for candidates, your vote can be transferred if your most preferred candidate is so popular, they don’t need all their votes to cross the election threshold or is not popular with other voters.
In an STV election, candidates must reach a certain number of votes to get elected. This is called a quota and is based on the total number of votes and the number of vacant positions.