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National Disabled Students' Association > NZ General elections > How to enrol

How to enrol

To vote in the New Zealand 2026 general elections, you’ll need to make sure you’re enrolled in your preferred roll. For 2026, there are also new rules impacting how late you can enrol. Check out the below for information on when you need to enrol, how to enrol, and the types of rolls.

You can access information provided by the Electoral Commission on enrolment in alternate formats including braille and large print here

Table of Contents

Enrolment dates

There have been several changes to how enrolment works in this year’s general elections. It is essential to make sure you enrol before the 25th October to make sure you can vote in this year’s elections.

  • Final date to change electoral roll type for Māori: 6th August 2026 (06-08-2026)
  • Final day to enrol: 25th October 2026 (25-10-2026)
  • Advance voting starts: 26th October 2026 (26-10-2026)
  • Advance voting ends: 6th November 2026 (06-11-2026)
  • Election day: 7th November (07-11-2026), voting places open from 9am to 7pm
    • Note that you cannot cast your vote after 7pm on election day.

How to enrol

Video for information on how to enrol in New Zealand Sign Language. 

Video information on enrolling from overseas in New Zealand Sign Language.

Video information about whether you are eligible to enrol and vote, New Zealand Sign Language

Enrolling or making changes to your enrolment

You can enrol or update your enrolment online or by post.

  1. You can check your enrolment, update your enrolment, or enrol online
  2. You can download the enrolment form that best suits your situation or receive a form via mail by calling 0800 36 76 56 or texting your name and address to 3676 at any time and —

Check out this link for information on what to do if you need help to enrol. If you wish to complete an enrolment form on behalf of someone else for reasons such as a person’s disability, you can download this form to show why you are completing the form on their behalf and send it in alongside the completed enrolment form or email both forms to enrol@vote.nz.

Recent changes to how enrolments work

There have been changes to the Electoral Act 1993 that mean enrolments for voting close earlier than the previous 2023 election. The last day to enrol is 13 days before election day — meaning you’ll have to enrol by the 25th October 2026 for your voice to be heard in this year’s general elections. The advance voting period will also be for 12 days, from the 26th of October to 6th November 2026. 

There were also changes to the ability for prisoners to vote, where individuals who were sentenced to less than three years are no longer able to vote. This impacts anyone who was sentenced after 20th December 2025. The NDSA acknowledges that disabled people and Māori are greatly overrepresented in Aotearoa prisons, and that this impacts ākonga within our scope — we hope to see this rule changed in the future, acknowledging that all New Zealanders should have the right to vote, and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Māori and general rolls

Video information on the general and Māori rolls for elections in New Zealand Sign Language

If you identify as Māori, you can change which roll you are on up to three months before the election. This means the final date to change which electoral roll you’re on is the 6th August 2026. Which roll you are on affects which candidatesyou can choose from, in both general and local elections, however it does not change what political parties you vote for in general elections.

How many people are on the Māori or general rolls, along with census data, also affects the total number of Māori and general electorates (how many areas the general and Māori electorates are divided into). Being on the Māori roll does not impact how many votes you receive, or how many candidates or parties you can vote for.

Going on the unpublished roll

Video information on how to access the unpublished roll in New Zealand Sign Language

Some people experience concerns about whether it is safe for their information to be available publicly on the electoral roll. If you feel it is important to your safety, you can apply to go on the confidential unpublished roll, meaning your details won’t be shared. If you are on the unpublished roll, you will not be able to check or update your enrolment details online, and you won’t automatically receive voting papers in the mail, so you will need to make a special vote during elections. You can be on the unpublished roll while also being on the general or Māori roll.

To apply to be on the unpublished roll, you will need to provide supporting information about why you need to register on the unpublished roll, such as a letter from another person about why your work or personal circumstances place you at risk, a copy of a protection or restraining order that is in force, or information from a police or corrections officer.