The Electoral Commission runs parliamentary elections. We do not run or oversee local elections.
Our approach to complaints (elections.nz)
If you have questions about your enrolment, you can call us on 0800 36 76 56 (or +64 9 909 4182 if calling from overseas), email us, or get in touch with us using the form below.
If you want to return a scan or photograph of your enrolment application, you can email it to enrol@vote.nz or upload it here:
Frequently asked questions
To vote in the 2026 General Election, you need to be enrolled.
If you were enrolled at your current address by Writ Day, Sunday 4 October, we will send you an EasyVote card which will make voting faster and easier. If we have your email address, we'll send this card to you by email. Otherwise, we'll send it by post.
You can't enrol or update your details for the 2026 General Election after midnight, 25 October 2026.
The best way to return your form is to photograph or scan it and then upload it at the link below or email it to enrol@vote.nz.
If you’re returning your form by post, we recommend posting it no later than Tuesday 20 October to help ensure it reaches us before the enrolment deadline.
We will accept enrolment applications received by post on Tuesday 27 October, but cannot accept paper enrolment forms that arrive by post after that date.
It's easy to enrol, check or update your enrolment details.
You can enrol or update your details online with your NZ passport, NZ driver licence, or verified RealMe ID.
You can enrol or update without ID by filling out an enrolment form online and having it sent to you to sign and return, or by downloading a blank enrolment form (or having one mailed to you).
If you have a scan or photograph of a completed enrolment form to return, you can email it to enrol@vote.nz or upload it here:
You cannot enrol or update your details for the 2026 General Election after midnight, Sunday 25 October 2026.
If you can't find your enrolment in our online search, it doesn't necessarily mean you're not enrolled.
Some possibilities include:
- The details you've provided don't exactly match our records
If there's a small difference between the information we have on file and the information you’ve entered, the search might not find you. This can sometimes be due to your browser autofilling information in the wrong fields, or may also be due to spelling or formatting. - You’ve enrolled recently
If you’ve recently enrolled or updated your details you won’t be able to see your details online straight away. It takes time for us to manually check and process enrolments. We’ll be in touch once your enrolment has been processed. - You’re on the dormant roll
If you’ve moved addresses since you last updated your enrolment, you may have been placed on the dormant roll. You need to update your address with us to find yourself in the search. - You’re on the unpublished roll
If you’ve chosen to go on the unpublished roll, you won’t be able to search for your details. You can contact our unpublished roll team on unpublished.roll@elections.govt.nz
If you have any concerns about your enrolment please contact us so our enrolment team can investigate for you.
If you were enrolled to vote at your current address by Sunday 4 October, we'll send you an EasyVote card.
Your EasyVote card should arrive between 14 and 22 October.
If we have your email address, we'll send your EasyVote card by email. Otherwise, we'll send it by post.
Under the Electoral Act 1993, election advertising may be published at any time, except on election day.
Election signs (elections.nz)
Councils may have their own rules about the placement of election signs. If you have questions or concerns about the placement of election signs in your area, you can contact your local council.
If we have your email address or phone number, we may communicate with you by email or text message.
If you're unsure whether a communication from us is legitimate, please check the details below or contact us.
EasyVote
If you were enrolled by Sunday 4 October and we have your email address, we'll send your EasyVote card by email. If you don't open the email, or if it bounces, we'll send you a reminder text message. EasyVote emails will be sent from Wednesday 14 October and will come from no-reply@easy.vote.nz. Text messages will be from 5101.
If you're on the unpublished roll you'll be sent your EasyVote letter by post.
Enrolment update reminders
If we have your email address or your mobile phone number, we’ll send you reminders about the enrolment deadline. These reminders will be sent in late August/early September.
Reminder emails will be from no-reply@easy.vote.nz and reminder text messages will be from 5101.
If you receive these reminders, but haven't received an enrolment update letter, you need to update your address details.
Please note that these reminders were produced using electoral roll information from 12 August. If you have removed your email address from your enrolment record since that date, you will still have been sent an enrolment reminder. If you've added or updated your email address since that date, your reminder will not have been sent to your new email address.
Māori Electoral Option
We sent reminder emails and texts to voters of Māori descent about the deadline to change electoral rolls before this year’s general election.
If you are Māori and you gave us your email address or mobile number when you enrolled or updated your details, we sent you a reminder by email or text about the 6 August deadline to change rolls.
We didn’t send you a reminder if you’ve changed rolls in the last 60 days.
A small batch of emails were sent on 29 June. The bulk of emails and texts were sent from 6 to 19 July and 21 to 24 July.
Notice of emails from the Electoral Commission
If you received an email or text message and you have further questions please contact us using the form on this page or call 0800 36 76 56.
Your enrolment update letter
If you’re enrolled to vote at your current address, you’ll get a letter from us in August asking you to check the details we have for you and update them if anything has changed.
This letter will arrive between 17-22 August. Please check all of the information in the letter carefully. If anything has changed since you last updated your enrolment, you need to update your enrolment details. Updating your details helps make sure you’re able to vote in the 2026 General Election.
You can update your details online, or you can complete and return the form enclosed with your letter.
What if the information in my letter isn’t correct?
If you’ve recently made changes to your enrolment, they might not be reflected in your letter.
We prepared your enrolment update letter using electoral roll information from 7 July. If you’ve made changes since then, your new details won’t be included in your letter. This includes changes in roll type – i.e. from general roll to Māori roll, or Māori roll to general roll.
If something doesn’t look right, you can check your enrolment online, or give us a call on 0800 36 76 56 and we can check for you.
If you’ve made changes to your enrolment, we’ll send you a separate confirmation by email or post.
Your Māori Electoral Option letter
If you're Māori and you're enrolled to vote, we recently sent you a letter about the choice between the Māori roll and the general roll.
Your Māori Electoral Option letter
Other communications
If you’ve changed your address but haven’t let us know, or if you’ve never enrolled to vote, you may have received a letter asking “Are you enrolled at your current address?”. If you receive this letter, you may need to enrol or update your enrolment.
You can enrol or update online or give us a call on 0800 36 76 56.
If you’ve recently made changes to your enrolment, they might not be reflected in the letter, email or text message we sent you.
Enrolment update letters were prepared using electoral roll information from 7 July. If you’ve made changes since then, your new details won’t be included in your letter. This includes changes in roll type – i.e. from general roll to Māori roll, or Māori roll to general roll.
Enrolment update reminder emails and text messages were prepared using electoral roll information from 12 August. If you've made changes to the email or mobile number on your enrolment record since then, this change won't be reflected in the email or text message you receive. If you have removed your email address from your enrolment record since that date, you will still have been sent an enrolment reminder. If you've added or updated your email address since that date, your reminder will not have been sent to your new email address.
If something doesn’t look right, you can check your enrolment online, or give us a call on 0800 36 76 56 and we can check for you.
If you’ve made changes to your enrolment, we’ll send you a separate confirmation by email or post.
If you're Māori, you can choose to go on either the Māori roll or the general roll.
When you're enrolling to vote for the first time, you choose which roll you want to be on.
You can change your roll type at any time, except:
- in the 3 months before a general election
- in the 3 months before local elections which are held every 3 years
- before a parliamentary by-election if the change would move you into the electorate where the by-election is being held.
To change rolls in time for the 2026 General Election, you need to make your choice by midnight, 6 August 2026.
We provide information on enrolling, voting and elections in six mita (regional dialects) to connect with voters across the motu.
Resources communities can share are produced in the mita of Te Ātiawa, Ngā Puhi, Waikato–Tainui, Ngāti Porou, Te Arawa, and Kaī Tahu/Ngaī Tahu.
In recognition of one of the mana whenua groups, key information from our national office in Wellington Te Whanganui a Tara uses the mita of Te Ātiawa, including the glottal stop (' replaces h).
You can view the results of past parliamentary elections at the New Zealand Election Results website.
New Zealand Election Results (electionresults.govt.nz)
There are two types of votes at a general election: ordinary votes and special votes.
If your name is on the printed electoral roll at the voting place when you go to vote, you’ll cast an ordinary vote.
If your name is not on the printed electoral roll at the voting place, you’ll cast a special vote.
You might not be on the printed electoral roll at the voting place you go to vote at if:
- you’re voting from outside your electorate (or from overseas)
- you’re on the unpublished roll
- you enrolled after Writ Day (4 October 2026).
Both sorts of votes are worth the same when it comes to the final result!
The only real difference is that if you’re making a special vote, you’ll need to fill out an extra form. This means it may take you a little bit longer to complete your vote at a voting place.
Special votes are counted during the official count. Before special votes are counted, we check each voter is enrolled.
You cannot enrol or update your details for the 2026 General Election after midnight, 25 October.