Telephone dictation voting

If you're eligible and would like to vote by telephone dictation, then you need to register before you vote.

You can register to vote by telephone dictation from Monday 5 October by calling 0800 028 028 from within New Zealand or +64 4 471 2000 from overseas (international calling rates may apply).

When you call you will need to select option 1 to register.

You can call to register from Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm (NZ time).

You must be registered for telephone dictation voting by noon, Saturday 7 November (NZ time).

If you haven't registered by this time, you won't be able to vote by telephone dictation. However, you can still vote at any voting place in New Zealand until 7pm on election day, Saturday 7 November or if you are overseas you can vote by downloading, completing then uploading your voting papers.

What to expect when you register

Everyone who registers to vote using the Telephone Dictation Service will be asked to choose a secret question and answer which only you know.

You can choose from one of three secret questions:

• the name of your first primary school
• the name of your first pet
• the name of the street where you grew up.

You will be given a personal registration number once you have registered. Your registration number can be sent to you by email, text message, given to you over the phone, or someone can call you back. Make sure you’re ready to record your personal registration number if you want to receive it over the phone.

Your registration number and secret question are used to confirm that you're already registered when you call back to vote without giving your name to the electoral official. Please don't tell anyone your secret question or the answer to it until you call back to vote.

You'll need to know your registration number and the answer to your secret question when you call back to vote.

Registering from overseas

If you are overseas, you will be asked to confirm that you are either a

• NZ Citizen who has visited NZ within the last 3 years; or
• Resident for electoral purposes of NZ who has visited within the last 12 months; or
• A Public Servant, Member of the NZ Defence Force or a family member who is travelling with them.

You can also vote:

• In New Zealand at any voting place from Monday 26 October until 7pm on election day, Saturday 7 November.
• From overseas, by completing then uploading your voting papers.

If you're registered to vote by telephone dictation, you can vote from Wednesday 21 October by calling 0800 028 028 from within New Zealand or +64 4 471 2000 from overseas (international calling rates may apply).

You can call Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (NZ time) or on election day, Saturday 7 November, from 9am to 7pm (NZ time).

Your last chance to vote is on election day, Saturday 7 November from 9am to 7pm (NZ time).

When you call you will need to select option 2 to vote.

You will be asked by an electoral official to provide your registration number. Do not give them your name – they won't know your identity and your vote is secret. They will ask you to answer the secret question you selected when registering.

The electoral official will read out the names of each candidate whom you can vote for with your electorate vote, and each party which you can vote for with your party vote. They will mark your voting paper according to your instructions.

A second electoral official will confirm with you that the voting paper has been marked according to your instructions.

Please contact us if you have any questions, or would like to talk over your options:

• 0800 36 76 56 (within NZ)
• +64 9 909 4182 (from overseas - international calling rates may apply)
• overseas@vote.nz