Voting

An elector must be enrolled before election day. Polling places (generally located in school, church, or community halls) are open 9am-7pm on election day. Voters may take or ask someone to help, including election day staff.

Advance voting opens 17 days before election day at limited locations and times for people unable to vote in their electorates on election day. Electoral workers also visit rest homes for the elderly and hospitals to take votes before election day.

People unable to vote in their electorate on election day, or whose name does not appear on a printed roll for any reason cast a special declaration vote at any polling place, or by requesting them in advance as a postal vote, or by asking someone to bring them the papers to complete on election day. The declaration and vote are sealed in a two pouch envelope which is sent first to the electorate registrar of electors who confirms the elector’s eligibility from the declaration before forwarding the sealed ballot to the final count.

Electors overseas on election day and unable to cast an advance vote may cast a special declaration vote at an overseas post before 4pm Friday local time, request a postal ballot in advance, or download the papers from the Elections NZ website and return them to NZ by fax or post before the close of voting in NZ. Overseas voting opens 17 days before election day.

Everyone enrolled at writ day will receive an EasyVote information pack in the mail about a week before election day. The pack includes an EasyVote card or letter to take to the polling place with identifying information that makes the issuing of voting papers faster, as well as details of advance and election day polling places, electorate candidate names and party lists, and an explanation of MMP.

Counting and declaration of results

Advance votes are counted in secure conditions on election afternoon, while votes cast on election day are counted as soon as the polls close. Election night (preliminary) results are made available and updated by the minute at www.electionresults.govt.nz. The declaration of the official results is usually 14 days after election day. In this time a number of processes are completed:

• All votes counted on election night are recounted and checked to ensure accuracy.
• Special vote declaration forms are sent to electorates, validated and the votes included in the official count.
• Electoral rolls are examined for double-voting and a Master Roll of voters in each electorate compiled. (If someone has voted more than once, all their ballot papers are removed from the count.)

While voters are asked to mark their ballot papers with a single tick in each column they use, a “clear intention test” is applied to papers marked in other ways and these votes are counted if the elector’s wish to vote for a single party or candidate is beyond doubt.

After the result of any recounts, the Chief Electoral Officer determines the number of list members elected to Parliament for each party from the party lists.

Recounts

After the declaration of the official results electorate candidates can apply to a District Court Judge for a recount of the electorate vote. Party secretaries may apply for a recount of the party vote.

The only way to challenge the election of an electorate candidate is by election petition, which may be brought by a voter or a candidate and is heard by three High Court Judges. The petition must be brought within 28 days of the Chief Electoral Officer declaring the official results. Only the Party Secretary of a party contesting the party vote can challenge the election of list candidates by petition to the Court of Appeal.

Filling seat vacancies between elections

If the sitting MP resigns, is expelled or dies, then their seat becomes vacant and must be filled unless a general election is due in the next six months, or the Prime Minister says one will be held in the next six months, and 75 percent of MPs agree in either case that the vacancy can remain until the next election.

For list seats, the vacancy is filled by the next unelected candidate from their party’s list at the previous general election who is willing to take the seat.

If the vacancy is in an electorate seat, a vote called a by-election is held in that electorate only. The electoral process for a by-election is similar to that for a general election, although only the electorate vote part of the MMP ballot paper is printed. (A list MP winning a by-election would create a list seat vacancy.)

Download options