Referendums
Referendums on the End of Life Choice Act 2019 and the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill will be held with the general election. There are advertising rules and spending limits for the referendums, similar to those for third parties at a general election. This handbook will help explain how the referendum rules apply to you.
Advertising and campaigning
All advertisements relating to the election in any medium will need a promoter statement.
From 1 January 2020, parties and candidates can’t keep overseas donations greater than $50.
Enrolling and voting
People can enrol to vote online using their driver licence, passport or RealMe verified identity.
Voters in New Zealand will be able to enrol on election day.
Prisoners sentenced to less than 3 years imprisonment will be eligible to vote.
Counting votes and releasing results
Referendum votes will not be counted on election night — we’ll count referendum votes after election day. We’ll release preliminary results (ordinary referendum votes) for each referendum on Friday 30 October.
We’ll process and count overseas votes in Wellington rather than in the electorates.
The period for declaring the official results and returning the writ has been extended. After we count special votes, we’ll release the official results for the general election and referendums on Friday 6 November.
Key dates for a candidate
This table shows the key dates you need to know as a candidate for the 2020 General Election.
| Date | What happens |
| Monday 10 August | Nominations can be lodged from this date |
| Tuesday 18 August | The regulated period starts During the regulated period, any advertising you run to promote your candidacy or an option on the referendum counts towards your expense limits |
| Saturday 13 September | You can start broadcasting advertisements for your candidacy on TV and radio |
| Thursday 17 September | Noon is the deadline for party secretaries to get their bulk nomination schedules and party lists to us |
| Friday 18 September | Noon is the deadline for electorate candidates to get their individual nomination forms to us |
| Wednesday 30 September | Overseas voting starts |
| Saturday 3 October | Advance voting starts. You can’t campaign within 10 metres of an advance voting place |
| Friday 16 October | The regulated period finishes You must take down all campaign signs before midnight |
| Saturday 17 October | Election day Voters can vote between 9am and 7pm. You can’t campaign on election day |
| Friday 30 October | Preliminary referendum results will be released (ordinary votes) |
| Friday 6 November | We declare the official results for the general election and referendums We aim to release the results by 2pm |
| Thursday 12 November | If there are no judicial recounts, we return the writ showing elected electorate candidates and declare the elected list members of Parliament (MPs) |
| Wednesday 17 February 2021 | The deadline for reporting your election and referendum expenses and donations to us |