Can't get to a voting place?

You can authorise someone to pick up your voting papers from a voting place for you.

You can download a form at the bottom of this page which you can sign and ask someone to take it to a voting place. They will then bring back your voting papers to complete.

If you're not able to download and print the form, you can write this information by hand. Please make sure your handwritten authorisation includes all the information we've indicated.

Your voting papers must be returned to a voting place before voting closes on election day.

If you can’t get to a voting place, and don't have someone who can collect your voting papers for you, contact your electorate manager.

It may be possible for voting papers to be dropped off or delivered to you, and then collected from you.

The best way to vote from overseas is to download your voting papers, complete them, then upload them.

You may also be able to vote in person at an overseas voting place.

Vote from overseas

If you’ll be in a remote location during an election – for example a remote New Zealand island administered by the Department of Conservation, an offshore installation, or working on a vessel during the voting period – you may be able to vote using our remote voting services.

Contact our remote voting team for more information:

remote@vote.nz

If you are in a care home and you won’t be able to go to a voting place, you don’t need to contact us. Your local Electorate Manager will contact the manager of your care home to arrange voting services.

If you can’t get to a voting place because you are in hospital, a friend or family member can bring you your voting papers.

If you’re scheduled to go into hospital prior to election day, it’s best to vote in advance from 13 November if you can.

Call us on 0800 36 76 56 for more information.

If you’re blind, partially blind or have a physical disability that means you can’t mark your voting papers without help, you can vote using the telephone dictation service.

You need to register to use this service, even if you’ve used it at previous elections.

Telephone dictation voting

You’re legally allowed to have time away from work to go and vote on election day. You can also vote early at an advance voting place from Monday 13 November.

If you haven’t had a reasonable chance to vote before starting work on election day and you’re not doing any essential work or service, your employer must let you leave work to vote by 3pm. You’re legally allowed to be away from work for the rest of the day if you need that time to vote.

Your employer can’t take money from your pay for time you take off to vote.

If you’re doing any essential work or service

If you have to work after 3pm to carry out any essential work or service, your employer must let you leave work for a reasonable time earlier in the day, so you can vote.

Your employer can’t take money from your pay for time you take off to vote, as long as you don’t take more than 2 hours.

If you’re a crew member on a ship

If you’re working on a ship in port and you’re enrolled or eligible to enrol in the electorate the ship is in, your ship master must let you go ashore to vote.

If you’re working on a ship that won’t be in port or will not return to port during the voting period, contact us closer to election time for help with enrolling and voting.

Contact us

If you’re in prison or on remand and you’re eligible to vote, we’ll work with Corrections to provide you with voting services. If you're eligible to vote in the Port Waikato by-election and wish to vote, contact your unit staff who will be able to help.

If you’re in prison

You’re eligible to vote if you’re serving a prison sentence of less than 3 years.

If you’re on remand

You’re eligible to vote if you’re on remand. We’ll provide you with voting services.

You’re eligible to vote if you’re on home detention or serving a community-based sentence. Election officials will give your local Probation Services information about the voting options available to you.

If you’re in a police cell in the electorate on election day, a voting team may visit before midday so you can vote.

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