Thousands of voters get in early

Nearly 12,000 people have already voted less than a week after advance voting facilities opened on August 31.

In the first two days of advance voting, 11,977 votes have been cast by people who will be away from their electorate on September 17.

The highest number of votes - 576 - have already been cast in Epsom, where a tussle is taking place between Act and National. South Island electorates have the greatest total of advanced votes cast so far, at 3371.

* It's not too late to enrol. For an enrolment form, call 0800-36-76-56, freetext your name and address to 3676, drop into a PostShop or visit the website below.