Election day is almost upon us. You can vote until 7pm on Saturday night. Photo / Michael Craig
With voting for this year’s General Election closing in just over 24 hours, here is all you need to know ahead of the big day.
By the end of Wednesday, nearly 1 million ordinary votes had been issued (970,818).
JOIN US AT nzherald.co.nz FROM 7PM FOR EXTENSIVE LIVE COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS AS THEY COME IN
Electoral Commission chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne says many people have got out early to vote, but there are still a lot who haven’t.
“We don’t want them to miss out.
“It’s important that you have your say on who represents you in Parliament for the next three years. Saturday is your final chance to enrol, vote and be heard,” he said.
All voting places will be open from 9am to 7pm on election day.
The Electoral Commission says there will be “plenty of opportunity” for anyone who hasn’t voted ahead of election day, with more than 2300 polling places open around the country tomorrow.
People can check where their closest voting place is online at vote.nz or by calling 0800 36 76 56.
Alternatively, use this map to find out what voting places are near you.
You can vote in any location, but voting will likely be faster, and you won’t need to cast a special vote if you vote in your electorate or in one of the out-of-electorate polling places that support your electorate.
Chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne says voting places in malls have been particularly popular this election and are expected to be busy again tomorrow.
“We’d like to remind people that we also have other voting places available close to home including at schools and community halls,” he said.
Not enrolled to vote yet? Don’t worry, you can enrol and vote at the same time at any voting place.
The Electoral Commission says voters who have their EasyVote card should take it with them to make voting faster, but people can still vote without one.
Le Quesne added that voters in the Port Waikato electorate are encouraged to cast their party vote and “have their say on the parties that will be in Parliament”.
Following the death of Act candidate Neil Christensen, the Port Waikato electorate votes will not be counted, and a by-election will be held next month.
Are you still trying to decide who to vote for? Here are the two main paths explained, and all you need to know to make a decision.
The preliminary results of the election will be released progressively after voting closes at 7pm on Saturday.
Results will be available at electionresults.govt.nz
Results from 95 per cent of voting places are expected to be released around 11.30pm tomorrow.
Official results will be declared on Friday, November 3.
A reminder that electoral rules prohibit media coverage of the campaign on Saturday (election day). But join us at nzherald.co.nz from 7pm for extensive live coverage and analysis of the results as they come in, featuring ZB’s Mike Hosking and Heather du Plessis-Allan and our panel of experts including Madison Reidy, Shayne Currie, Claire Trevett, Audrey Young and Barry Soper.
It follows concerns about use-of-force powers being given to staff.