You will be 18 or older on election day
You can complete an enrolment form at 17. Your enrolment becomes active when you turn 18.
Prepare to vote in six clear steps
Confirm eligibility and enrolment, find your electorate, understand both votes, know what happens at the voting place and follow the final result.
Check whether you are eligible to vote
You are a New Zealand citizen or a resident for electoral purposes
A resident for electoral purposes generally lives here lawfully and is not required to leave by a specified date.
You have lived continuously in New Zealand for at least 12 months at some point
It does not have to be the most recent 12 months. Overseas voters also need to meet recent return requirements.
Enrol, check your roll and find your electorate
Online enrolment is usually fastest
Use a New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or verified RealMe identity to enrol, check or update your details online.
Enrol by Writ Day for the simplest process
Enrol by 4 October to appear on the printed roll and receive an EasyVote card. After that you can still enrol until 25 October, but you will cast a special vote.
Māori roll or general roll
People of Māori descent can choose either roll. The choice changes which local electorate candidate you vote for, not the parties available for your party vote.
Roll changes for this election closed at midnight on 6 August. A change made now applies to a future election.
Find the electorate for your address
The 2026 election has 64 general electorates and 7 Māori electorates. Use the official address map for your electorate. Candidates become final after nominations close at noon on 8 October.
Sources
Official information in your language
Vote NZ publishes translated enrolment and voting guidance. Use the official document for your language alongside this summary.
Understand the party vote and electorate vote
Usually determines each party's total share of seats
Under MMP, the party vote usually determines the proportion of seats each qualifying party receives in Parliament.
Chooses the MP for your local electorate
You may give your two votes to candidates from different parties. Electorate and list MPs have the same voting power in Parliament.
How those votes become seats
A party must pass one of two thresholds
It needs at least 5% of the party vote or one electorate seat before it can receive seats in Parliament.
Electorate winners fill seats first
A qualifying party's electorate winners take its seats first. Any remaining seats go to candidates in party-list order.
An overhang can temporarily enlarge Parliament
If a party wins more electorates than its party-vote share provides, it keeps the extra seats. Other parties do not lose seats.
Know how and where you will vote
Early voting
Vote at a published voting place during the early voting period if election day is inconvenient.
Election day
Vote at a published voting place. Voting closes at 7 pm on election day.
Overseas voting opens 21 October
After enrolling, download voting papers from Vote NZ and return them using an approved upload, postal or in-person method.
At a voting place
Staff in orange vests issue a paper ballot. You mark it privately behind a voting screen.
An EasyVote card helps but is not required
If you do not have one, staff ask for your name and address and find you on the electoral roll.
You can vote at any voting place in New Zealand
Voting close to home is usually faster because the local printed roll and electorate papers are available there.
Some voters complete a special declaration
You cast a special vote if you are not on the printed roll, vote outside your home electorate or are on the unpublished roll.
Arrange any voting support in advance
Help marking the voting paper
A friend, family member or voting-place worker can read the paper or mark it as you direct. They cannot tell you who to vote for.
Working on election day
If you have no reasonable opportunity to vote before work, an employer must provide voting time in the circumstances set by law and cannot deduct pay. Essential work and services have different arrangements.
Telephone dictation voting
People who are blind, have low vision or cannot mark a voting paper because of a physical disability can register for telephone dictation voting.
Follow the count and government formation
Māori roll changes for this election closed at midnight
Enrol by this date for the printed roll and an EasyVote card
Overseas voting opens
Enrolment and detail updates close at midnight
Early voting opens
Election day
Official results are declared
Last day for the return of the writ, subject to recounts
Last day for the new Parliament to meet
New Zealand 2026 general election key dates
Download a standard .ics calendar with nine key dates for New Zealand's 2026 general election.
How the result becomes final
Preliminary results start after 7 pm
Votes are counted by hand. Election-night results exclude special votes and can change.
Every ordinary ballot is rechecked
The official count checks the rolls and special-vote declarations, then declares the result on 27 November.
Parties may need to negotiate
Parties can form a coalition or agree on confidence and supply. The incumbent government follows the caretaker convention until a new ministry is appointed.
The Governor-General confirms where the confidence of the House lies from the political outcome, but does not take part in party negotiations.
Sources
2026 General Election key datesOpens in a new tabHow general election votes are countedOpens in a new tabWhat happens after the electionOpens in a new tabGovernment formationOpens in a new tabCaretaker conventionOpens in a new tabAmended official results for the 2023 General ElectionOpens in a new tabNational, ACT and New Zealand First Coalition Government arrangementsOpens in a new tab
When you are ready, compare policies by issue
Read published claims and sources, then open a party page for people and public record.