Information for votersNgā kōrero whakamārama mā ngā kaipōti

What is a special vote?

Special Votes are available to electors:

• whose names do not appear on the final electoral roll, but who nevertheless qualify. Usually this is when the elector has enrolled after the roll closed 
• who did not get a voting paper that had been posted to them
• who spoiled or damaged a voting paper that had been posted
• who are going to be overseas over the election period (if you're super-organised, we may be able to send papers to your overseas address)
• who are on the unpublished roll.

You can either pick up your special voting pack from us, or we can post it out to you. However, the completed voting papers must be returned to the Electoral Officer in the envelope supplied. This is very important as special votes also require the completion of a statutory declaration. Why? It's a legal requirement, and it also offers electors protection against possible duplicate voting.

If an elector wants to make a special vote, but is not on the Parliamentary Roll (e.g. they have just turned 18), they must enrol at a Post Office during normal business hours. Special vote declarations are forwarded to the Registrar of Electors who check that the elector is eligible.

NOTE: Special Votes cannot be collected by candidates or their assistants for distribution to electors. 

Who to vote for?

We recommend you read the candidate's blurbs which are available to read on our Meet the Candidates page. A paper copy of the Candidate Profile booklet will be posted out with your voting papers. If you would like to learn more on where your candidates stand when it comes to policies that are important to you, Policy NZ has provided an informative platform where you can compare candidate views in areas such as climate change, housing and planning, rates and revenue, transport and more! To discover more on your candidate's views on policies that matter to you, visit Policy NZ.