democracy

Two referendums will be held alongside the election

At this year’s General Election, you can also vote in two referendums on whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019 should come into force, giving people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying and whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal.

For more information about what is being proposed for each referendum please visit referendums.govt.nz

Who can vote from overseas?

You are eligible to enrol and vote from overseas if you:

• are 18 years of age or older,
• have lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in your life, and
• are one of the following:
  • a New Zealand citizen who has been in New Zealand within the past three years
  • a permanent resident of New Zealand who has been in New Zealand within the past 12 months

You can enrol, check or update your enrolment details online using your New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity at vote.nz/enrol

Vote using our download and upload service

This year, the quickest and easiest way to vote from overseas is to download, print and upload your voting papers for the 2020 General Election and referendums.

You can download and print your voting papers at vote.nz/overseas from Wednesday 30 September. 

You must be correctly enrolled before you can download your voting papers.

If you are on the unpublished electoral roll you won’t be able to download your voting papers and will need to use one of the other options.

Upload your voting papers from overseas

You can submit your voting papers online using our upload service. This is the safest, quickest and most reliable way to return your voting papers. We don’t accept voting papers by email — it’s not secure enough.

Completed voting papers can be scanned or photographed and uploaded at vote.nz/overseas before 7pm on Saturday 17 October (NZ time).

Other ways to vote from overseas

You may be able to vote at an overseas voting place or request postal voting papers be sent to you overseas.  These options vary greatly and are highly dependent on the COVID-19 situation in your area.  Visit vote.nz/overseas for the latest updates on services offered by overseas voting places.

Vote before you return to New Zealand

New Zealand’s borders are currently closed to almost all travellers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Arrivals are required to undergo either managed isolation or quarantine for at least 14 days.  If you will be returning to New Zealand from early October, it may be easier to vote overseas before you return.

People in managed isolation or quarantine

People who will be in managed isolation or quarantine in New Zealand and who won’t be getting out in time to vote in person will be able to vote by telephone in the general election and referendums.  The telephone service will be available to eligible voters from Monday 5 October till the end of voting on election day.

More information

For more information about voting from overseas:

• visit vote.nz,
• call 0800 36 76 56 (from inside NZ),
• call +64 9 909 4182 (from overseas),
• or email [email protected]