Vote by telephone dictation at the 2020 General Election and referendums

Telephone dictation voting in the 2020 General Election and referendums starts on Wednesday 30 September and ends at 7pm on election day, Saturday 17 October. 

Who is eligible for telephone dictation voting?

Anyone who is enrolled to vote and is blind, partially blind or has another physical disability that prevents them from marking their voting paper without assistance is eligible to vote by telephone dictation. 

You need to register to use the telephone dictation service in the general election and referendums, even if you've used it at previous elections.

How to register for 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 14 September by calling 0800 028 028 and selecting option 1 to register. 

You can call weekdays from 9am to 5pm until Friday 9 October. From Monday 12 October you can call from 9am to 7pm.

You must be registered for telephone dictation voting by 7pm, Thursday 15 October. 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 from Saturday 3 October until 7pm on election day, Saturday 17 October. 

When you register, you 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.

How to vote by telephone dictation 

If you’re registered to vote by telephone dictation, you can vote from Wednesday 30 September by calling 0800 028 028 and selecting option 2 to vote.

You can call weekdays from 9am to 5pm until Friday 9 October. From Monday 12 October you can call from 9am to 7pm. Your last chance to vote is on election day, Saturday 17 October from 9am to 7pm.

Once you’re connected to an electoral official you will be asked to provide your registration number. Do not give your name to the electoral official – they won't know your identity and your vote is secret. The electoral official will then ask you to answer the secret question you selected when registering.

For the general election, the electoral official will read out a list of the political parties and the names of each candidate standing in your electorate. They will mark your voting paper according to your instructions.

The electoral official will then read out the first referendum question on whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019 should come into force. They will mark your voting paper according to your instructions.

The electoral official will then read out the second referendum question on whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal. They will mark your voting paper according to your instructions.

A second electoral official will confirm that the voting papers have been marked according to your instructions.

Enrol to vote

You must be enrolled to make your vote count. 

Information about enrolling to vote for New Zealanders living with a disability is available at vote.nz or call 0800 36 76 56.