Thousands of voters gone no address
Thousands of people could miss out on voting in the October local elections after their enrolment update packs were returned marked “gone no address”.
Enrolment packs were sent to 3.3m enrolled voters at the end of June so they could check their details were up to date. Local elections are held by a postal vote and people need to be listed at the right address to get their voting papers in the mail.
“About 90,000 people have enrolled or updated their details this month and made sure they are ready to vote in the local elections,” says Mandy Bohté, National Manager of Enrolment and Community Engagement for the Electoral Commission.
“There are also approximately 60,000 people whose packs have bounced back marked gone no address,” says Ms Bohté. “If you’ve moved house but haven’t updated your address, do it now so that you can have your say in the local elections.”
“You can update your address by filling in a new enrolment form. Go online at vote.nz, pop into a PostShop, or call 0800 36 76 56 and ask for a form to be sent to you.”
People must enrol or update their details by 16 August to receive their voting papers in the mail. Those enrolling after 16 August will need to contact their local council to arrange a special vote.
Postal voting for the local elections runs from 20 September to 12 October.