Taituarā has submitted on the Justice Committee’s Inquiry into the 2025 Local Elections, highlighting the need for fundamental change to ensure the long-term sustainability, accessibility, and integrity of local electoral processes.
A central message in the submission is that the current system cannot continue on its present path. Postal voting, long the backbone of local elections, is becoming increasingly unsustainable. However, Taituarā cautions that there is no single, simple replacement. Online voting does not yet meet public expectations around trust and security, and while in-person voting is available in legislation, it is not currently used by councils.
Instead, Taituarā advocates for a whole-of-system approach, one that considers not just how people vote, but why they do or don’t participate, and the barriers they face.
A case for system-wide reform
The submission distinguishes between immediate operational improvements and broader structural change.
Taituarā recommendations are designed as a package of interdependent reforms aimed at modernising the electoral system. The organisation cautions against implementing isolated changes, noting that meaningful progress will require coordinated reform across voting methods, delivery systems, and public engagement.
Alongside this, the submission reiterates a number of practical improvements to election processes that Taituarā has raised in previous submissions.
Key recommendations
Taituarā recommends:
- Undertaking a comprehensive review of the local electoral system, moving beyond incremental fixes to a coordinated, system-wide redesign
- Planning for a transition away from reliance on postal voting, while recognising that no single alternative is yet ready to replace it on its own
- Exploring a mix of voting methods, including greater use of in-person options and other accessible channels, alongside future consideration of digital solutions
- Improving enrolment, communication, and voter engagement, with a focus on reducing barriers to participation
- Strengthening the operational framework for delivering elections, including roles, responsibilities, and consistency across councils
- Progressing targeted improvements to election processes and mechanics, building on issues raised in previous Taituarā submissions
Looking ahead
The Taituarā submission makes clear that the future of local elections will require deliberate, coordinated reform rather than incremental change.
The inquiry presents an opportunity to take a long-term view, ensuring the system evolves in a way that maintains public trust while improving participation and accessibility for communities across Aotearoa.
