Telephone dictation voting

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

You can register to vote by telephone dictation from Thursday 31 July 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 Friday from 9am until 6pm (NZ time).

You must be registered for telephone dictation voting by noon, Saturday 6 September (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 the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate until 7pm on election day, Saturday 6 September or, if you are overseas you can also download and upload 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 6 years; or
• Permanent Resident of NZ who has visited within the last 4 years; 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 25 August until 7pm on election day, Saturday 6 September
• From overseas, by downloading your voting papers.

Telephone dictation voting opens on Wednesday 20 August.

If you’re registered to vote by telephone dictation, you can vote by calling one of the numbers below and selecting option 2.

• 0800 028 028 (from within NZ)
• +64 4 471 2000 (from overseas - international calling rates may apply)

From Wednesday 20 August, you can call Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm.

Your last chance to vote is on election day, Saturday 6 September from 9am to 7pm.

When you call the telephone dictation number 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 standing in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. 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.