How to vote

Learn how to vote in the 2020 General Election and referendums, so you’re ready when voting starts.

You must be enrolled to vote

You need to be enrolled to vote in the election and referendums.

To enrol and vote, you need to be 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.

We’ll send you a voting information pack and an EasyVote Card

If you're enrolled by 16 August, you'll get a voting information pack in the mail. The pack tells you:

how to vote

who the candidates are in your electorate

who the political parties are

when you can vote

where to find voting places near you

about the two referendums.

You'll also get an EasyVote card that makes voting quicker on the day.

Voting starts soon

You can vote from Saturday 5 September to Saturday 19 September. Vote early to help maintain physical distancing.

If you’re registered to vote by telephone dictation, you can vote from Wednesday 2 September to Saturday 19 September by calling 0800 028 028. You can call weekdays from 9am to 5pm until Friday 11 September. From Monday 14 September you can call from 9am to 7pm.

Your last chance to vote is on election day, Saturday 19 September from 9am to 7pm.

Find your nearest voting place

Voting places open across New Zealand, so everyone has a chance to vote. We’ll open more voting places than usual to reduce queues. We also encourage you to vote locally if you can.

Voting is quicker if you vote in the area where you live. However, if you're away from where you usually live, you can vote at the nearest voting place.

You can find your nearest voting place on vote.nz

Bring your EasyVote card and a pen

Take your EasyVote card with you when you vote. If you haven’t got a card or forget it, you can still vote. You don't need to bring ID.

To help make voting safer, you can bring your own pen to mark your voting papers. If you forget, don’t worry — there will be pens available.

What happens when you get to a voting place?

When you arrive to vote, someone will be there to guide you and answer your questions.

Help keep your voting place safe

Election workers will manage the queues at voting places to make sure everyone can maintain physical distancing.

Please use the hand sanitiser provided before you get your voting papers.

Getting your election and referendum voting papers

When it’s your turn, go up to the person issuing voting papers. Put your EasyVote card on the table and tell them your name. They'll find your name on the electoral roll and give you your voting papers. You’ll get one voting paper for the election and one for the referendums.

If you don't have an EasyVote card, you'll be asked for your name and address, and finding you on the electoral roll may take a bit longer.

Once you get your voting papers, you take it to a voting screen where you can vote privately.

You can enrol at a voting place

You need to be enrolled for your vote to count. If you're not enrolled when you get to a voting place, you can enrol there. You'll need to fill out an enrolment form and a 'special declaration vote' form. Someone will be there to guide you and answer your questions.

If your name is not on the printed electoral roll at a voting place

If your name is not on the printed roll, you'll need to fill out a 'special declaration vote' form before you can vote.

Your name may not be on the printed roll if:

you enrolled after the roll was printed

you're voting away from your home electorate

you're on the unpublished roll.

If you need help to read or mark your voting paper

A friend, family member or someone working at the voting place can help you mark your voting papers. They can't tell you who to vote for, but they can:

go to the voting screen with you

read out the words and information on the voting papers

mark the voting papers for you if you ask them to.

How do you vote?

You get two votes in the election — a party vote and an electorate vote.

You can also vote in two referendums — the End of Life Choice referendum and the Cannabis legalisation and control referendum.

Learn more about the referendums at referendums.govt.nz

You can vote for a party and a candidate, or vote for only one or the other — it's your choice. Voting in the referendums is optional. You can also choose to vote in only one referendum if you want to.

Voting for a party

Your party vote is for the political party you want to be in government.

On the left side of your election voting paper, tick the circle next to the name of the party you choose. You can only vote for one party.

Voting for an electorate candidate

Your electorate vote is for the candidate you would like to be the member of Parliament for the area you live in.

On the right side of your election voting paper, tick the circle next to the name of the candidate you choose. You can only vote for one candidate.

Voting in the referendums

On your voting paper for the referendums, vote by placing a tick next to your answer to each referendum question. You can answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Don't worry if you make a mistake when you're voting

If you make a mistake when you're voting, you can take your 'spoilt' voting paper back and ask for another one. Spoilt papers aren't counted.

Putting your voting paper into the voting box

When you've finished marking your voting papers, fold them in half.

Place your voting paper for the election in the voting box for your electorate. If you’re voting in a Māori electorate, the box will be grey. If you’re voting in a general electorate, the box will be orange.

Place your referendum voting paper in the purple voting box.