The voting period for the 2023 Invercargill City Council by-election opens on Thursday July 13, with voting documents due to arrive in letterboxes from today.

A by-election, triggered following the resignation of former councillor Nigel Skelt in May, has attracted 14 candidates.

Council Deputy Electoral Officer and Manager Governance and Legal Michael Morris said all voting documents should be delivered to people registered on the electoral roll by Tuesday July 18.

There are also many ways to cast your vote, he said.

“Votes can be dropped into any DX mailbox or any NZ Post box or, if you prefer to hand deliver your vote, we have made it easier than ever to do so. Our orange vote bins are at convenient locations throughout Invercargill.”

The bins would be at Ascot, Bluff, Newfield and Ōtātara 4 Squares, Elles Rd and Windsor New Worlds, Plaza Supervalue, Mitre 10 Mega and The Warehouse.

DX mail would be clearing all orange bins regularly throughout the voting period, he said.

People were also able to cast their votes at the Library, Bluff Service Centre or at Te Hīnaki – Civic Building, where people could also drop their votes through the after-hours slot, Morris said.

“We want to make it as easy and convenient as possible for our community to have their say,” he said.

If people hadn’t managed to update their details on the electoral roll, or were on the unpublished roll, they could visit Te Hīnaki – Civic Building or the Bluff Service Centre during opening hours and arrange a special vote, Morris said.

Candidate statements from the 14 Council hopefuls in the 2023 Invercargill City Council by-election have been published on the council website and a candidate-run series of “Meet the Candidates” meetings were also planned throughout the city in July, he said.

Election Day is on Friday August 4.