Local body elections: Hastings voting-booklet blunder leaves 27 candidate profiles missing

Errors in the printing process of the Hastings information and candidate profiles has resulted in 27 profiles being left out of the booklet.

A former Hawke’s Bay mayor is calling for a reprint of a Hastings voting booklet after 27 candidate profiles were missed out.

Former Napier mayor Barbara Arnott said it might not be mandatory to reprint the profiles, but morally, it has to be redone because nobody knows how it will affect the results.

The mistake was noticed by Sue and Collin (who didn’t want their last names used) on Friday after their voting papers were delivered to the James Wattie Retirement Village in Havelock North.

“I always vote,” Sue said.

“Because we have only been in Hawke’s Bay for 10 years, we are not familiar with all the candidates. So I was looking through the profiles to learn more.”

But when she got to page 12, the next page was not 13 but 29.

“I just expected it to be there, but the entire middle section was missing.”

ElectionsNZ chief returning officer Warwick Lampp said the mistake was caused by a printing error in the binding of the booklet.

“We received fewer than 10 calls about it, so it’s not widespread, which is good,” Lampp said.

“Anyone who got one of these booklets should call the council or the 0800 number on the voting papers.”

Hastings District Council has delivered correct booklets to the retirement village.

But Arnott, who was mayor from 2001 to 2013, says there could be hundreds more faulty booklets out there.

“They have no idea how many are affected,” Arnott said.

“I know it would be an expense to redo them, but we live in a democracy based on everyone getting a fair deal.”

The sole missing mayoral candidate profile was that of Darrin Wilson.

Wilson is also standing for council and that profile with the 16 other Hastings/Havelock North General Ward candidates is missing.

The missing candidates are: Sayeed Ahmed. John Bennett, Michael Fowler, Gus Freeman, Steve Gibson, Bernard Hickey, Rizwaana Latiff, Yvonne Lorkin, Lucie-Jane McElwee. Simon Nixon, Nick Ratcliffe, Rion Roben, Callum Ross, Jacqueline Supra, Debbie Ward and Kevin Watkins are missing.

Also absent are the two Flaxmere candidates, Henry Heke and Henare O’Keefe, the three Mohaka General Ward candidates, Pagen Goldstone, Derek Nowell-Usticke, Kirsty Scott-McLean and four of the five Takitimu Māori Ward candidates, Siiam Daniel, Sarah Greening, Kellie Jessup and Bevan O’Connor.

It resumes on page 29 with Heather Te Au-Skipworth‘s profile.

Wilson said he wasn’t worried about it.

“It will be what it will be,” he said.

“I’ve spoken at heaps of events and people know how I feel.”

Ōpōtiki, Whanganui and South Wairarapa districts all had issues with Māori wards not appearing in candidate booklets.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.