During local elections, you can vote for the Mayor, a ward councillor, community board members and members of the Regional Council. During a by-election you can vote for one member for the vacant position.

Akaroa Community Board by-election

The Akaroa Community Board by-election(external link) for the Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board will be held on 12 June 2026.

If a voting process is required to fill this vacancy, voting papers will be mailed out to electors on Monday 11 May 2026, and voting will close at 12 noon on Friday 12 June 2026.

Vote bin locations for the by-election will be detailed on this page and included with voting documents.  

Local elections voting

Council elections are conducted by postal vote. Voting documents are posted to all enrolled electors.

Each elector, after receiving their voting documents, should complete them, seal them in the return postage-paid envelope, post them in a NZ Post box or deliver them to a vote bin. 

If hand-delivered, completed voting documents can be returned to Christchurch City Council orange vote bins. The locations of these will be included with voting documents and available online.

Vote bins may be located in Council facilities and locations in your community.

People who are eligible to vote but who do not receive a voting paper in the post are able to request and complete a special vote(external link).

Anyone who is not able to complete a postal vote independently due to disability is invited to contact the Elections team at elections@ccc.govt.nz or phone 03 941 8581.

The details and profile statements for all candidates in local elections and by-elections are made available after the nominations close. This information will also be sent to electors with voting documents. 

The term for elected members is three years. Find your ward and community board.

Christchurch City Council has two decision-making parts: the Council and Community Boards.

Council

The Council is made up of the Mayor and 16 councillors. It makes decisions important to Christchurch as a whole.

All Christchurch voters elect the Mayor, while councillors are elected by voters from the ward they represent.

Community Boards

The six community boards represent their individual areas and cover three wards, with the exception of the Banks Peninsula ward, which has its own community board.

Each community board in the city has nine members, elected by voters from the areas they represent. The Banks Peninsula community board has eight. Councillors are also appointed to the community board covering their ward.

Community boards make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities, and help build strong communities.

Environment Canterbury

Environment Canterbury also holds triennial elections at the same time as us. Find out more.(external link)

There are many reasons you could cast a special vote in an election, including:

  • Your name does not appear on the final electoral roll, but you qualify as an elector.
  • You have chosen to put your name on the unpublished (confidential) roll.
  • You have moved since the electoral roll was compiled, and have lived at your new residential address for one month or more.
  • You spoiled, lost or did not receive your ordinary voting document.
  • You will be away from your residential address during the voting period.
  • You are eligible to vote for some positions in the elections as a ratepayer elector, for a property you own but do not live in.

Special voting documents are available to electors:

  • Whose names do not appear on the final electoral roll, but who qualify as electors.
  • Who have not received a voting document previously posted to them.
  • Who spoils or damages a voting document previously posted to them.

When an election or by-election is underway, special voting documents can be issued to electors by contacting the Elections Team, 03 941 8581 or elections@ccc.govt.nz, or there may be Customer Service Hubs able to issue special votes. Information will be available on this website.

Special voters must complete a statutory declaration. This is a legal requirement and a protection for electors against possible duplicate voting. If an elector requests a special vote and is not on the parliamentary roll, for example, they have just turned 18 years of age, or have moved, the person must enrol by the day before an election or by-election.

An application for registration as a parliamentary elector may be obtained:

After voting in an election or by-election closes, special vote declarations are forwarded to the Registrar of Electors for verification that the elector is eligible and has enrolled as a parliamentary elector.

Special voting documents cannot be collected by candidates or their assistants for distribution to electors.