Enrolment packs

At the beginning of the advance voting period, you’ll receive an essential information pack, called your EasyVote pack. This pack contains an EasyVote card (or slip if enrolled late) to take to the voting place, details on how to find your nearest voting place, and the names of candidates for your local electorate.

Try to keep your EasyVote card or slip somewhere safe, as it’ll make it a lot easier and quicker for you to vote on the day. However, if you lose your card, don’t worry — you can still vote!

Voting 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.

• 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
• Official results announced: 27th November 2026 (27-11-2026)
  • Note that you cannot cast your vote after 7pm on election day.

How you can vote

You can vote in-person, overseas, and by using several different support methods such as having a support person, having a person collect and deliver your papers, or by using a telephone dictation service. 

It’s important to plan in advance which way of voting works best for you. Some ways of voting, such as using a telephone dictation service, require enquiring and registering in advance. If you have a support person, or are having someone collect and deliver your papers, there may also be additional forms you need to fill out.

Voting in person

You’ll be able to find voting locations on the Vote.nz website around three weeks before election day. You can vote in the area you live, or at the nearest voting place — however, voting will be quicker if you vote in the area where you live.

Find which electorate you live in here.

Arriving at your voting place

When you arrive at your voting place, you’ll meet someone who can guide you and answer questions (note, they cannot provide answers on who to vote for!). If you have your EasyVote card, you’ll give it to the person who issues the voting paper, and they’ll find your name on the electoral roll.

If you don’t have an EasyVote card, don’t worry — you’ll need to provide your name and address, and they can still find you on the electoral roll (it might just take a bit longer!).

Once they’ve found your details, you’ll be given voting papers. You’ll take these papers to a booth, where you can vote in private. You’ll be given the option to place a vote for your party vote and your electorate vote. To place your votes, you tick the circle next to the name of the party and candidate you choose.

Party and electoral votes

With your party vote, you will vote for a political party. This vote decides who you want to be in government, making national decisions about Aotearoa. 

With your electorate vote, you’ll choose an individual candidate. This is the person you want to be the member of Parliament (MP) for the area where you live (your electorate). 

Completing your vote

If you make a mistake while voting, you can bring your voting paper back to the person issuing papers, and ask for a new one.

When you’re done, fold the paper in half and place it into the ballot box.

Accessing help to vote

Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) states —

“States Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others”

Voting when disabled might require some more preparation than for people without disabilities. However, you have the right to exercise your vote, and have your voice heard in our general elections.

If you need help to vote, you may be able to vote with help from a support person, or a telephone dictation service. To better understand your options, you can call the freephone number 0800 36 76 56, or +64 9 909 4182 if you’re calling from overseas.

If you cannot call the above number, please use the Vote.nz contact form or email Enquiries@Elections.govt.nz.

Voting when you can’t get to a voting place

If you can’t get to a voting place — such as if you have mobility difficulties, live in a remote location, or are in a hospital or care home — you can still vote.

1. You can download a form which you can sign, and ask someone to take the form to a voting place. You can also hand-write the information needed if you cannot download and print the form.
   • The person taking your form to a voting place will then bring back your voting papers. They must return those papers to the voting place before voting closes on election day.
2. You can contact your electorate manager, where you may be able to have your voting papers dropped off and delivered to you, which will then be collected from you when you have completed them.
3. If you are in a care home, your local Electorate Manager will contact the manager of your care home and arrange voting services for you.
4. If you are in a hospital, a trusted person can bring you your voting papers. You can access more information on how to vote in a hospital by calling 0800 36 76 56.

Learn more here about how to vote if you cannot get to a voting place.

Receiving help from a support person

You can ask a friend, family member, or an electoral official to help be your support person if you need help in reading or marking your voting papers. A support person can help to read out information to you, or mark the voting papers for the party and candidate you ask for. 

A support person should be someone you trust to listen to you, and follow your instructions on who you want to vote for. They should not make a voting decision for you, and they cannot tell you who to vote for.

Using a telephone dictation service to vote

The telephone dictation service will now be available for voting in the 2026 general elections. You may be eligible to use this service to vote if you are blind, low vision, or have a physical disability that means you cannot mark your voting papers on your own. To access the telephone dictation service to vote, you will first need to register. Please call 0800 36 76 56 (or +64 9 909 4182 if overseas) to request assistance on how and when to register to use this service.

More information will become available on how to use the telephone dictation service closer to when voting opens.

See the statement from Blind Low Vision NZ on accessible elections here.

Voting from overseas

Video from the Electoral Commission on voting from overseas [Youtube, captioned]

If you’re voting from overseas, you won’t automatically receive voting papers. The easiest way to vote online is by downloading your voting papers, and uploading them to the Vote.nz website. You will need to be currently enrolled to vote in New Zealand — check your enrolment status online.

The download will include a PDF with a declaration form, your voting form, and instructions to help you understand how to vote. 

To fill out the declaration form, you will need someone else to be around who can witness and sign the form. The form will give you instructions on who can act as a witness for you.

You can then scan or photograph your forms to upload online. Make sure your scans or photos contain the whole page, and are in focus and readable. When visiting Vote.nz/overseas, a link to download and upload your forms will be available when overseas voting opens.

You can also vote at an overseas voting place. A list of overseas voting places will be available on the Vote.nz website before the election.

Notethat if you are on the unpublished roll, you will need to contact Overseas@Vote.nz for assistance in accessing your voting papers. 

You can learn more about how to vote from overseas on the Vote.nz website