Can't get to a voting place?

You can authorise someone to pick up your voting papers from a voting place for you.

You can download a form from this page which you can sign and ask someone to take to a voting place.

If you're not able to download and print the form, you can write this information by hand, or you can collect the form from your closest voting place.

Please make sure your written authorisation includes:

• Your first and last name
• Your contact phone number
• The address where you're enrolled to vote
• The electoral roll (general or Māori) you believe you are enrolled on
• A statement authorising the bearer to collect voting papers on your behalf

The person you have authorised will then bring back your voting papers to complete. These will include a special vote declaration, which will need to be witnessed.

Your voting papers must be returned to a voting place before voting closes on election day.

Unable to get to a voting place? (PDF, 3.3MB)

If you can’t get to a voting place, and don't have someone who can collect your voting papers for you, contact your electorate manager. They will contact you closer to the start of voting to make arrangements for you.

It may be possible for voting papers to be dropped off or delivered to you, and then collected from you.

Contact your electorate manager

The best way to vote from overseas is to download your voting papers, complete them, then upload them.

You may also be able to vote in person at an overseas voting place.

How to vote from overseas

If you’ll be in a remote location during an election – for example a remote New Zealand island administered by the Department of Conservation, an offshore installation, or working on a vessel during the voting period – you may be able to vote using our remote voting services.

If you are in a care home or rest home and you won’t be able to go to a voting place, you don’t need to contact us. Your local Electorate Manager will contact the manager of your care home or rest home to arrange voting services. Check with your care home or rest home to find out what arrangements they have made for residents to vote.

If you can’t get to a voting place because you are in hospital, a friend or family member can bring you your voting papers.

If you’re scheduled to go into hospital prior to election day, it’s best to vote in advance if you can.

Call us on 0800 36 76 56 for more information.

If you’re blind, partially blind or have a physical disability that means you can’t mark your voting papers without help, you can vote using the telephone dictation service.

You need to register to use this service, even if you’ve used it at previous elections.

Registration for the telephone dictation service opens on Monday 5 October 2026, and will close at noon (NZT) on election day, Saturday 7 November 2026.

Voting with the telephone dictation service opens on Wednesday 21 October 2026, and will close at 7pm (NZT) on election day, Saturday 7 November 2026.

Telephone dictation voting

You’re legally allowed to have time away from work to go and vote on election day. You can also vote early at an advance voting place.

If you haven’t had a reasonable chance to vote before starting work on election day and you’re not doing any essential work or service, your employer must let you leave work to vote by 3pm. You’re legally allowed to be away from work for the rest of the day if you need that time to vote.

Your employer can’t take money from your pay for time you take off to vote.

If you’re doing any essential work or service

If you have to work after 3pm to carry out any essential work or service, your employer must let you leave work for a reasonable time earlier in the day, so you can vote.

Your employer can’t take money from your pay for time you take off to vote, as long as you don’t take more than 2 hours.

If you’re a crew member on a ship

If you’re working on a ship in port and you’re enrolled or eligible to enrol in the electorate the ship is in, your ship master must let you go ashore to vote.

If you’re working on a ship that won’t be in port or will not return to port during the voting period, contact us closer to election time for help with enrolling and voting.

Contact us

If you’re in prison or on remand and you’re eligible to vote, we’ll work with Corrections to provide you with voting services.

If you’re in prison

You're eligible to vote if you are serving a prison sentence of less than 3 years and all the offences you were sentenced for occurred before 20 December 2025.

If you’re on remand

You’re eligible to vote if you’re on remand. We’ll provide you with voting services.

You’re eligible to vote if you’re on home detention or serving a community-based sentence. Election officials will give your local Probation Services information about the voting options available to you.

If you’re in a police cell in the electorate on election day, a voting team may visit before midday so you can vote.