Voting opens in the Mana by-election tomorrow
The first votes in the Mana by-election can be cast tomorrow (Wednesday 3 November 2010) as advance and overseas voting gets underway.
“While election day is Saturday 20 November, people who won’t be in the Mana electorate on the Saturday can vote from Wednesday 3 November,” says Chief Electoral Officer, Robert Peden.
“Anyone who can’t get to a polling place on election day because they are out of the Mana electorate, sick, working or for any other reason can vote in advance.
“This is an important option in a by-election. Unlike a general election, there will be no polling places open outside the Mana electorate on election day, so anyone who will be outside the electorate should vote in advance,” says Mr Peden.
Advance voting is available from Wednesday 3 November until Friday 19 November in the Mana electorate at:
- 17b Hartham Place North, Porirua City Centre
- Kapiti Community Centre, 15 Ngahina Street, Paraparaumu
Mana voters can also vote in advance at the offices of any Registrar of Electors across the country or at the Electoral Commission, Vogel Centre, 19 Aitken Street, Wellington.
People who are overseas and enrolled in the Mana electorate can also vote from Wednesday.
“The easiest option for people overseas is to download their voting papers from the elections website and fax or post them back so we receive them by 7pm on election day,” says Mr Peden.
People overseas can also apply to have voting papers posted to them or they can vote in person at overseas posts in Australia, Samoa, the Cook Islands and England.
“Anyone going overseas after Wednesday can vote before they go away at an advance voting place,” says Mr Peden.
In the 2008 general election there were 2,173 advance votes and 506 overseas votes in the Mana electorate.