Howto make your voice count
Learnhowto vote in the 2020 general election and referendums, so you’re readywhenvoting starts.
Youneed to be enrolled to vote in the election and referendums.
Toenrol and vote, youneed to be 18 years or older, aNewZealand citizen or permanent resident, and have lived inNewZealand continuously for 12 months ormore atsometime inyour life.
If you enrolled by Sunday, September 13 you will receive your EasyVote pack around early October, before the start of the advance voting period.
The pack tells you:
Howto vote
Whothe candidates are Whenyoucan vote
You’ll also get an EasyVote card that makes voting quicker on the day.
Youcan vote from Saturday, October 3 to Saturday, October 17. Vote early to help maintain physical distancing.
Onelection day, voting places are open from9amto 7pm.
If youwant to vote before election day, the opening hours might be different.
Voting places open acrossNew Zealand, so everyone has a chance to vote. We’ll openmorevoting places than usual to reduce queues. Wealso encourage youto vote locally if you can.
Voting is quicker if youvote in the area where you live. However, if you’reawayfrom where you usually live, you can vote at the nearest voting place.
If you can’t go to a voting place, there are other ways youcan vote including postal voting.
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Take your EasyVote card with youwhenyou vote. If you haven’t got a card or forget it, you can still vote. Youdon’t need to bring ID.
Tohelpmakevoting safer, you can bring yourownpen to markyour voting papers. If you forget, don’t worry— there will be pens available.
Youcan get help to vote ifyou needit
Whenyou arrive to vote, someonewill be there to guide you and answer your questions.
Helpkeep your voting place safe
Election workers willmanagethe queues at voting places tomakesure everyone can maintain physical distancing.
Please use the hand sanitiser provided before you get your voting papers.
Getting your electionand referendum voting papers
Whenit’s your turn, goup to the person issuing voting papers. Put your EasyVote card on the table and tell themyour name. They’ll find yournameon the electoral roll and give you your voting papers. You’ll get one voting paper for the election and one for the referendums.
If youdon’t have an EasyVote card, you’ll be asked for yourname and address, and findingyou on the electoral rollmaytake a bit longer.
Once you get your voting papers, you take it to a voting screen where
youcan vote privately. Youcan enrol at a voting place
Youneed to be enrolled for your vote to count. If you’re not enrolled whenyou get to a voting place, you can enrol there. Youcan enrol and vote at any voting place, including on election day. You’ll need to fill out an enrolment form and a ‘special declaration vote’ form. Someonewill be there to guide you and answer your questions.
Youmayneed to cast a special vote
If yournameis not on the printed roll at a voting place, you’ll need to fill out a ‘special declaration vote’ form before you can vote. This is knownas a ‘special vote’.
Yournamemay not be onthe printed roll if:
Youenrolled after the rollwas printed
■ You’re votingawayfrom your homeelectorate
■ You’re on the unpublished roll
Ifyouneed help to read or markyour voting paper
Afriend, familymember or someoneworking at the voting place can help youmark your voting papers. They can’t tellyouwho to vote for, but they can:
■ Goto the voting screen with you
■ Read out thewords and information on the voting papers
Mark the voting papers foryou if youask themto
Youget two votes in the election — a party vote and an electorate vote.
Youcan also vote in two referendums— the Cannabis legalisation and control referendum and theEnd of Life Choice referendum.
Youcan vote for a party and a candidate, or vote for only one or the other— it’s your choice. Voting inthe referendums is optional. Youcan also choose to vote in only one referendum if youwant to.
Voting for aparty
Your party vote is for the political party youwant to be in government.
Onthe left side of your election voting paper, tick the circle next to thenameof the party you choose. Youcan only vote for one party.
Voting foranelectorate candidate
Your electorate vote is for the candidate you would like to be the memberof Parliament for the area you live in. Onthe right side of your election voting paper, tick the circle next to the nameof the candidate you choose. Youcan only vote for one candidate.
Voting in the referendums
Onyour 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’tworryifyoumakea mistakewhenyou’re voting
If youmake amistakewhen you’re voting, you can take your ‘spoilt’ voting paper back and ask for another one. Spoilt papers aren’t counted.
Whenyou’ve finished marking your voting papers, fold themin half.
Place your voting paper for the election in the voting box for your electorate. If you’re voting in aMa¯ori 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.