Western Bay of Plenty Council is asking residents to enroll now to vote in local elections later this year.

October sees the next round of local government elections taking place and to ensure a vote on who should lead the Western Bay for the next three years residents must be enrolled to vote.

'Enrolling is simple, you can do it online in less than five minutes,” says Western Bay of Plenty District Council's Customer Service and Governance manager Barbara Whitton.

'Don't wait, jump online and get it sorted.”

Come voting time postal votes will be mailed out to enrolled voters, and they'll be asked to choose who they want to represent their area, their community and their values.

'Enrolling to vote is one of the most powerful things you can do,” says Barb.

'You don't have to be a ratepayer to vote. If you live here, you may be eligible to vote.”

The voter turnout for the last election in 2019 for the Western Bay of Plenty was just 39.1 per cent, below the national average of 41.7 per cent.

'This year, we want to buck the trend and get more of our community voting,” says Barb.

'It starts now with enrolment.

'Even if you're already enrolled, you can jump online and check your enrolment details to ensure your voting papers reach you. It's easy, there's no log-in required, just your name and address.

'If you need a little help just visit one of our libraries or service centres and our team can give you a hand.”

Visit the Electoral Commission's website to enrol, or check your enrolment details vote.nz/enrol

There are over 42,000 eligible voters registered in the Western Bay and 39,000 or so are registered to vote, with fewer still actually voting.

The district uses the ‘First Past the Post' voting system to determine its elected members. This includes the Mayor, 11 Councillors, and five Community Boards. In this system the candidate with the most votes wins.

The District is split into three wards – Te Puke-Maketu, Kaimai, and Katikati-Waihī Beach. Three or four Councillor positions are assigned to each ward to ensure all of the District's areas are represented equitably.

To be eligible to enrol you must be 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, who lives in New Zealand and has lived in New Zealand for a year continuously at any time.

If you're Australian, Niuean, Tokelauan or a Cook Islander, you can enrol after you have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more.

Key dates for the 2022 local election

• NOW - 15 July 2022 Consider being a candidate
• Friday 15 July 2022 Candidate nominations open
• Friday 12 August 2022 Candidate nominations close
• Wednesday 17 August (or sooner) Candidates announced
• 16 - 21 September 2022 Voting documents delivered
• 16 September - 8 October 2022 Voting opens
• 8 October 2022 at 12 noon Election day: voting closes midday
• 8 October 2022 from 12 noon Preliminary results
• 13 - 19 October 2022 Declaration of results
• October/November 2022 Elected members' swearing in ceremonies