Hamilton City Councillors will revisit a recent decision on how Hamiltonians vote in local elections, after a Notice of Motion was filed seeking to keep the city’s current voting system.
The Notice of Motion, signed by six councillors, asks Council to reconsider last week’s decision to return to the First Past the Post (FPP) voting system for the 2028 election.
If supported by a majority of Councillors, the motion would see Hamilton continue using the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system for the 2028 election. As proposed in the original decision, voters would also be asked to choose their preferred voting system in a poll held alongside that election, with the result applying from 2031.
The Notice of Motion will be debated at Council's meeting on 19 August.
Local authorities in New Zealand can choose between two voting systems: FPP or STV.
Under FPP, voters select their preferred candidates and those with the highest number of votes are elected. STV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, with votes redistributed as candidates are elected or excluded.
Hamilton City Council used the FPP system until 2020, when Elected Members decided to adopt STV. The STV system was then used for the 2022 and 2025 local elections.
Members of the public can speak to the motion during the public forum at the meeting. Anyone with questions about taking part can contact Council’s Governance team at Governance@hcc.govt.nz.
At its meeting on 6 August 2026, Council chose not to proceed with a standalone electoral system poll at an estimated cost of $390,580 + GST. Instead, it resolved to hold a poll alongside the 2028 election at a cost of $30,000 + GST.