Nearly 3.8m people enrolled to vote
The provisional enrolment rate for the 2026 General Election is 93.6% with 3,790,946 people enrolled to vote.
The bulk of enrolment applications and updates received before the 25 October enrolment deadline have now been processed, but the final enrolment rate won’t be confirmed until after the election.
“The provisional rate of 93.6% is not far behind the final enrolment rate of 94.7% at the 2023 General Election. It shows a good level of awareness of the change in the rules and the new deadline to enrol before voting started this year,” says Karl Le Quesne, Chief Electoral Officer.
The enrolment rate in 2023 was 94.7%, 94.1% in 2020, 92.4% in 2017, and 92.6% in 2014.
The provisional enrolment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds is 74.2%, up significantly from 53.9% on 31 July this year, and close to the 76.7% enrolled in 2023.
The provisional enrolment rate for voters of Māori descent is 85.9%. There are 603,968 Māori voters enrolled, 272,513 (45.1%) on the general roll and 331,455 (54.9%) on the Māori roll. The total number of Māori enrolled in 2023 was 567,012.
“It’s been a community effort to raise awareness of the new enrolment deadline and we thank everyone who has played a part. Now the focus is on encouraging people to vote,” says Karl Le Quesne.
More information on the Electoral Commission’s work to get people enrolled is available on vote.nz.
Advance voting tracking ahead of 2023
About 309,876 people cast their votes in the first three days of advance voting, up from 235,515 in 2023.
“If you’re ready to vote, you can do it now at one of hundreds of voting places open around the country,” says Karl Le Quesne. 515 voting places are open today, 563 on Saturday, and 373 on Sunday.
“You can find your nearest voting place on a map at vote.nz or by calling 0800 36 76 56. The days and times advance voting places are open vary, so check before you go to vote.”
EasyVote cards
By last Saturday, 3.5 million EasyVote cards had been delivered by email or post to everyone enrolled by 4 October. This week, EasyVote emails are going to another 108,000 people who enrolled or updated their details by 6pm 22 October.
“Your EasyVote card helps us find you on the electoral roll and makes voting faster,” says Karl Le Quesne.
“If you got your EasyVote card by post, you can tear off the card from the bottom corner of your letter or bring the whole letter.
“If you got your EasyVote card by email, you can bring it in on your phone to show us. You can also take a screenshot or print it out.
“Remember, if none of those options suit, you can vote without your EasyVote card.”
The last day to vote is election day Saturday 7 November when more than 2,300 voting places will be open from 9am to 7pm.
ENDS
Editor’s notes:
- Advance voting figures: Advance voting figures are updated daily except Sunday at about 2pm on vote.nz
- Provisional Māori enrolment rate: Provisional estimates of the eligible voting population by Māori descent at 30 June 2025 produced by Stats NZ according to assumptions agreed to by the Electoral Commission.