![](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/62GN3YDZQ6ZYUIXKD2CAN4CQM4.jpg?auth=d3cd1304fc3eb5424a832e38d5c312752ee61e9190ef98953fa6df764e65bbc0&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
This week we started a new election series called Heartbeat.
Herald journalists went to small towns in New Zealand to talk to voters about their hopes, fears and dreams.
Each day we visited a town beginning with one of the letters H, E, A, R and T.
Below are links to the first week's stories.