You can get help to vote if you need it. Options may include voting with help from a support person or the telephone dictation service.
Please contact us if you would like to talk over your options:
Freephone 0800 36 76 56 (or +64 9 909 4182 if calling from overseas)
Voting with help from a support person
If you need help to read or mark your voting paper, a friend, family member or electoral official can be your support person.
Your support person can:
Go behind the voting screen with you
Read out the words and information on your voting paper
Mark the voting papers for you if you ask them to
Your support person can’t tell you who you should vote for in the general election.
Voting with the telephone dictation service
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.
Voting places
Some voting places can be quite busy at certain times of the day. If you’d prefer to vote when it’s quieter, or if you may need assistance, the best times to vote are typically between 9am – 11am and 2pm – 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Voting when you can’t get to a voting place
We always provide voting services for people who can’t get to a voting place, for example, because of poor health or mobility.
People living with dementia, or any other cognitive impairment, are able to continue to vote if they wish to do so.
We have an Easy Read Guide to Voting for people who have difficulty reading and understanding written information. We also have information on voting in the election in a range of alternate formats.
Everyone in New Zealand who is eligible to enrol, must enrol. This includes people who have dementia or other conditions that impact on cognitive function.
Even though people who are eligible to vote must be on the electoral roll, it is not compulsory for people to vote at an election.
Yes, a support person can help someone enrol.
If someone can’t sign the form because of a physical or mental impairment, a support person can complete the form on their behalf.
If you’re helping someone with dementia enrol, you will need to fill in another form so we can contact you as their representative. Ring 0800 36 76 56 for the form.
The right to vote in parliamentary elections and referendums is a fundamental right in our democratic system. There is no capacity test for voting.
Someone with dementia can vote, provided they want to vote and can clearly indicate their voting preference.
If a voter has reduced mental capacity, because of dementia or any other condition, the law allows the voter to be assisted to vote in accordance with the voter’s instructions. The support person can either physically assist the voter to mark the ballot paper, or may mark the paper on the voter's behalf in accordance with the voter's instructions. The voter must be present and must indicate their voting preference at the time the vote is cast. If they are not able to do this or cannot be present during voting, no one is permitted to vote on that person’s behalf, not even someone with power of attorney.
The bottom line is that the decision to vote, and who to vote for, must be made by the voter. Anyone assisting the voter must follow the voter’s instructions and not attempt to direct or influence their choice.
If you need help to read or mark your voting papers, a friend, family member or electoral official can be your support person.
Your support person can:
Go behind the voting screen with you
Read out the words and information on your voting papers
Mark the voting papers for you if you ask them to
Your support person can’t tell you who you should vote for.
