Taradale Town Hall is a voting centre in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
Taradale Town Hall is a voting centre in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
The official voting period for the general election began on Monday. Eligible people have been able to vote from overseas since last week. Here’s everything you need to know about casting your vote before election day.
What is advance voting?
An advance or early vote is a vote cast before election day on Saturday, October 14. Anyone eligible for voting in New Zealand can vote early. The advance voting period for the 2023 election starts on October 2.
If you would like to vote early, you can do this at any voting location in New Zealand. You can vote early whether you are properly enrolled or not. If you’re not enrolled or need to update your enrolment details, you will need to fill out an extra form when you vote.
More than 400 voting places across New Zealand have opened and more than 2300 stations will be open from 9am to 7pm on election day.
St John’s Presbyterian Church, Jireh Hall, Mahora, Hastings
Flaxmere Community Centre
Hastings Sports Centre
Havelock North Function Centre
Waipukarau Library
The Hub, Dannevirke
Why do we have advance voting and why is it important?
Traditionally, you needed a special reason to vote before an election, but the law changed before the 2011 election and a reason to vote early was no longer required.
The Electoral Commission’s deputy chief executive of operations Anusha Guler said since the law change, early voting has become increasingly popular.
Prior to the law change, 11.2 per cent of voters, or 267,078 people, cast advance votes in the 2008 general election. Since then, early voting grew to 67.7 per cent, or 1.9 million people, in the 2020 election.
“It provides a convenient option for voters when they know they’ll be away, working or busy on election day.
“To meet the increased demand for voting before election day, we have more voting places in locations that are easy to access on the way to work, study or shopping, when people are going about their day-to-day lives.”
Voting booths are now open in certain areas for this year's general election.
What is a special vote?
A special vote is the alternative to an “ordinary vote”. If you are properly enrolled and are voting at a station within your electorate, your vote will be an ordinary vote.
If your name is not printed on the electoral roll at your chosen voting station, you will cast a special vote.
There are several reasons why your name may not be printed on the electoral roll, including if you’re voting outside your electorate or from overseas; if you’re not enrolled to vote or you need to update your enrolment details; or if you enrolled after September 10.
If you are away from home and want to vote, you can do this at the nearest voting station by casting your special vote. The only practical difference between an ordinary and a special vote is that if you are casting a special vote, you will need to fill out an extra form.
Are advance and special votes counted the same way as ordinary votes?
All types of votes are worth the same when it comes to the final result.
The Electoral Commission does a preliminary count first and then the official count. All votes cast in the general election are counted by hand and counted twice, including early or overseas votes. The commission does not use vote counting machines.
Can I vote early or on election day if I am not enrolled right now?
Yes, but you will need to fill out an extra form. This means it may take a little bit longer to complete your vote.
If you have not enrolled before election day, you can do it on the day.
Can I vote if I’m overseas?
Yes. Overseas and telephone dictation voting starts on September 27. You can vote from overseas by downloading your voting papers from the Electoral Commission’s website, completing them and uploading them.
Voters who are overseas can vote until 7pm on election day (NZ time). About 78,000 enrolled voters have an overseas address.
There are also 74 locations overseas where New Zealanders can vote in person, including 10 voting places in Australia.
Telephone dictation voting has also started for people who are blind, partially blind or have a physical disability - that means they cannot mark their voting paper without help. You must register for this service.
