Local Electoral Act 2001

Conduct of elections and polls - Death, incapacity, or invalid or cancelled nominations of candidates

72: If election becomes unnecessary

You could also call this:

"What happens if an election is no longer needed due to a candidate's situation"

Illustration for Local Electoral Act 2001

If a candidate dies, becomes incapacitated, or their nomination is invalid or cancelled, and this means an election is not needed, the electoral officer will announce that the other candidates are elected. You will see this announcement as soon as possible after the nominations close. The electoral officer will do this in a prescribed manner. If this happens, the votes will not be counted. However, the rules about keeping votes secret and election records safe still apply. This is to ensure the election process is fair and secure. The electoral officer has to follow the rules of the Local Electoral Act 2001 when announcing the elected candidates. You can find more information about the Act and its amendments on the legislation website. The rules are in place to guide the electoral process.

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This page was last updated on 26 November 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM94380.

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

71: Death, incapacity, or invalid or cancelled nomination of candidate, or

"What happens if a candidate dies, can't run, or their nomination is cancelled?"

73: Adjournment of election or poll, or

"Delaying a Vote Because of a Big Problem"

Part 3Conduct of elections and polls
Death, incapacity, or invalid or cancelled nominations of candidates

72If election becomes unnecessary

If the death, incapacity, or invalid or cancelled nomination of a candidate means that the election is unnecessary, the electoral officer must, as soon as practicable after the close of nominations, give public notice declaring all remaining candidates to be elected in the prescribed manner.
If subsection (1) applies, the votes in the election must not be counted, but all other provisions of this Act and regulations made under this Act relating to the secrecy of the vote and security of election records apply in respect of that election.

Compare

1976 No 144 s 23(3)

Notes

Section 72(1): amended, on 29 June 2013, by section 23 of the Local Electoral Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 40).