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Find out who represents you

There are several firsts this election. Auckland has gender-diverse candidates and an increase in the number of candidates aged 35-44 years. The number of Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African candidates has increased by almost eight per cent, and there’s a seven per cent decrease in those aged 55-64 years. Plus, New Zealand-born and New Zealand European candidate numbers have dropped by 11 per cent.

With more fresh faces with different perspectives represented through candidates, could this change the make-up and volume of voter turnout? You be the judge. 

“We are really pleased with the number and diversity of candidates who have put their hand up to lead Auckland as it means voters are likely to have more choices that are reflective of their community. Research shows that having this kind of choice leads to more voters participating,” says Rose Leonard, Auckland Council’s Manager of Governance Services.

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Your cheat sheet to voting

You only vote for the councillors and local board members in your area, as well as the mayor for the whole of Auckland. Your personalised voting paper will specifically identify the candidates for the area you’re registered to vote in.

To make it easy, Auckland Council has a candidate directory search tool where you can read about the people standing in your area. Go to voteauckland.co.nz/findcandidates and type in your street address, select the type of candidates – mayor, councillor, local board or all to look up specific candidates standing in your area. The search results will tell you which ward and local board areas you are in, and shows for each candidate:

  • a profile statement
  • a bit about themselves
  • why they’re standing
  • what they love about the area they’re standing for
  • their views on Auckland’s key priorities.

Rose explains, “We understand a lot of eligible voters don’t bother voting because they don’t know anything about the candidates. So, our team has created a fantastic candidate search tool that’s user-friendly and gives voters good insights into who they can vote for. We hope that people find this helpful when making their choice.”

Voting opens Friday 16 September and closes midday Saturday 8 October.

Can you change Auckland? You can. For everything you need to know about voting: voteauckland.co.nz

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