Campaigning & Getting Votes

What candidates need to do

You should:

find out what is important to your local community
learn about Ruapehu Council's structure and the role of Councillors, and Community Board members.

Getting votes

Lack of knowledge about the candidates and their views is consistently reported as one of the main reasons people don't vote in local elections.

To run a successful campaign, you need to let local residents know the key issues you stand for within the community.

Tips for connecting with people and getting more votes

Use social media channels like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) for wider reach.
Door knock, address public meetings and talk to the public in shopping malls or weekend markets.
Look for interview opportunities on the radio, local newspapers, or magazines.
Advertise your views in newspapers or on billboards

Regulations for campaigning

You can start campaigning any time before the election, but you must declare any money you spend on your campaign.

There are regulations around campaigning, including:

how much you can spend (see below for expenditure limits and rules around donations)
how and when you can display signage.

These are included in the Candidate Information Handbook and you can refer to full details in The Local Electoral Act 2001 on the Legislation website.

Authorisation of advertising

Election advertising, using any media, must identify the person under whose authority it has been produced. The publication of any advertisements (in any newspaper, periodical, notice, poster, pamphlet, handbill, billboard or card, or broadcast over radio or television) for candidates requires the written authorisation of the candidate or the candidate’s agent.

The advertisement must contain a statement setting out the true name of the person or persons for whom, or at whose direction, it is published and their contact details, i.e., residential or business address, email address, PO Box number, phone number or a link to a page on an internet site if the page contains at least one of the contact details previously listed. This applies during the candidate’s entire campaign.

This means that for posters, adverts, signs, billboards, flyers, vehicle signage, websites, Facebook pages etc., each advertising item must include a statement saying that it is authorised by the candidate or agent, i.e. “Authorised by Joe Citizen, 20 Main St, Tinseltown.” This authorisation must be clearly visible on any campaigning material including signs and billboards.

No election material can contain:

Any untrue statement defamatory of any candidate and circulated to influence the vote of any elector.
An imitation voting paper that has the names of candidates with any direction or indication as to the candidate a person should vote for, or in any way contains such direction or indication likely to influence the voter.

Campaign expenditure limits

Candidates have campaign expenditure limits and are required to file an Electoral Expenses and Donations return (see below) to the Electoral Officer within 55 days of the election result being declared, estimated to be no later than 14 December 2025.

The campaign expenditure limit is population based and is specified in the Local Electoral Act 2001. The limited are in place to ensure that there is a level playing field for all candidates in regard to how much money they can spend on campaigning. The table below shows the 2022 expenditure limits as a guideline as this will be updated in 2025.

Campaigning funds will generally be provided by the candidate or, in some cases, from donations.

Please note that the council does not reimburse ANY campaigning costs, which remain the responsibility of each candidate.

Issue	Estimated Resident Population at 30/06/2021	Expenditure Limit (inc GST)
Mayoralty (District-wide)	12,900	$14,000
Ruapehu Māori Ward Councillor	3,920	$3,500
Ruapehu General Councillor	8,980	$7,000
Ōwhango-National Park Community Board	1,100	$3,500
Taumarunui-Ōhura Community Board	7,150	$7,000
Waimarino-Waiouru Community Board	4,670	$3,500

The population of Ruapehu District is estimated to be 12,900 (Stats NZ - 2021)

Standing for more than one issue

If a candidate is a candidate for more than one election held at the same time, (i.e. Mayor and Council), the total electoral expenses (inclusive of GST) of that candidate must not exceed the highest amount permitted under subsection (1) in respect of any one of the elections for which the person is a candidate, i.e. $14,000 for a Mayoral and Council candidate.

Electoral Expenses and Donations Form

LGE2022-Return of Electoral Expenses and Donations Form.pdf

Donations, crowdfunding and electoral expenses

Donations are defined as gifts of money, goods or services made to a candidate.

Donations exclude:

The labour of any person provided to a candidate free of charge
Goods and service provided free which have a reasonable market value of less then $300.

Candidates are not permitted to retain anonymous donations exceeding $1500. If a candidate receives an anonymous donation greater than $1500, he or she may retain $1500 of that donation. The balance of the donation must, within 20 working days of receipt, be paid to the Electoral Officer for payment into the general fund of the local authority. If the candidate is standing for more than one office, he or she must designate which office the donation will be used for.

If a candidate was to use crowdfunding to raise election money, the money raised from crowdfunding would be treated as a donation “funded from one or more contributions”.

The person raising the money (the donor) would have to disclose that the donation was funded from contributions, including the total proportion of the donation that came from any contributor providing more than $1,500 and the total of all other contributions. If any individual contributor’s contribution to a crowdfunded donation exceeds $1500 (either through one contribution or multiple contributions from the same individual), whoever raises the money (the donor) will be required to disclose that individual’s name, address and the total amount of their contribution.

There is no provision within the Local Electoral Act 2001 or it’s regulations specifying a period for recording or declaring donations. On that basis, all qualifying donations contributed for use in a candidate’s election campaign for the 2022 triennial local body elections should be recorded and included in the candidate’s return of election expenses and donations. A candidate must keep proper records of all donations received.

Candidates are required to keep evidence of any election expenses for amounts exceeding $200, but do not need to provide them with the declaration.

All candidates must submit a return of election expenses and donations form even if no expenses have been incurred or donations received.

The Candidate Handbook provides more details on definitions of electoral expenses in relation to a candidate at an election.