How to Enrol for Voting

If you are over 18 and you have Permanent Residency, and you have lived in New Zealand for over a year, you can vote in the election on October 17.  Before you vote, you have to enrol for voting.  It is easy to do.

If you have a New Zealand passport, driver’s licence or RealMe ID, it is easy to enrol online here. But if you don’t have these things, it is still easy to enrol to vote.  You can get an enrolment form from a voting place or download it here. Filling out the form is very easy. There are simple questions about your first names, your surname, date of birth, occupation and contact details. The form also asks you which roll you want to go on. If you are not Maori, you should choose the general roll.

Once you have filled out the form, post it to the Electoral Commission. The address is on the form. You will be enrolled to vote very quickly.

Even on election day, October 17, you can go to a voting place to enrol. So don’t worry, it is not too late to enrol!

Vocabulary:

Permanent Residency: (PR) a visa category in New Zealand that means you can live here permanently

first name: also known as Christian name. It is your individual name, such as John, or Sarah.

surname: This is your family name, such as Smith or Young.