With the Māori ward being included for 2022, this means Nelson has to move to a ward system. This could be a fully ward-based system or a mixed system, with a combination of candidates voted for “at large” and by ward (alongside the Māori ward). However, even in fully ward-based systems, vacancies such as mayor are always voted for “at large”. One of the major challenges will be to find the right balance of representation with the inclusion of the new Māori ward. Electoral Commission statistics from April state there are currently 1720 people on the Māori electoral roll in Nelson, compared to 38,402 on the general roll.