Order for regional council candidate names to be random

Candidate names will appear in random order for the 2022 triennial election, Waikato regional councillors have decided today.

Councillors were asked to consider three options for regional council candidates, all of which cost the same:

• Alphabetical order: the candidate names are arranged in alphabetical order of surname.
• Pseudo-random order: the order of candidate names is determined randomly, and all voting documents use that order.
• Fully random order: the order of candidate names is arranged randomly for each voting document.

A council report said that out of 118 territorial authorities, district health boards and licensing trusts in the 2019 local government election, 63 used random order, 47 alphabetical and 8 pseudo-random.

In the Waikato region for this year’s election, eight local councils have opted for random, while the remaining three have gone with alphabetical.

The report cited research undertaken by Auckland Council on the impact on the electoral outcome based on candidate ordering in the last four elections.

The research was focused specifically on Auckland voter behaviour and concluded that, while there may have been a small impact on being listed first on the ballot, there was no evidence to suggest that candidates listed first were more likely to be elected.

With respect to the candidate profile book which accompanies voting papers mailed to voters in September, the candidate statements will appear in alphabetical order, no matter what order candidates are listed on the voting documents.

Nominations open on 15 July and close at 12pm on 12 August. More information, including nomination forms and the candidate handbook, can be found at waikatoregion.govt.nz/elections.

Election Day is Saturday, 8 October. In a decision made two years ago, councillors agreed the first past the post voting system would be used in the local elections.

This meeting was livestreamed. You can watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/ep4_YGPPqhQ