6 May 2002

Calling all voters - the elector enrolment update campaign for this year's parliamentary general election gets underway today, Monday 6 May.

Electoral Enrolment Centre (EEC) National Manager Murray Wicks said the campaign is aimed at raising the awareness about the general election and the need for some 2.8 million eligible voters to be correctly enrolled to vote in it.

"As the outcome of the election affects all New Zealanders, it is important that everyone who is eligible to vote is enrolled and makes sure their enrolment details are correct," Mr Wicks said.

From today, all registered electors will be posted a personalised update pack outlining their current enrolment details, with electors only needing to respond if their details need updating. Some electors will note on their update form that the name of the electorate they are enrolled in has changed since the last election in 1999. This is the result of the recently announced changes to electorate boundaries for this year's election.

Once electors receive their pack, they should check their personal enrolment details and if any changes are required, make them and post the form back as soon as possible to avoid losing it or forgetting to return it. If people receive an enrolment update pack for someone who no longer lives at the address shown, the envelope should be forwarded on or marked 'Gone - no address' and returned. This will result in the elector's name being removed from the roll.

"So look out for the pack in your letterbox," said Mr Wicks. "If you don't receive an enrolment pack by Thursday 9 May you're either not enrolled or your details are out of date. If this is the case, you will need to fill in a new enrolment form."

Enrolment forms are available from PostShops, public libraries and council offices, by calling 0800 ENROL NOW (0800 36 76 56) or from the elections website www.elections.org.nz. Eligible electors can also check and update their enrolment details, and enrol online. The last day for people to make changes or enrol for the preliminary electoral roll is 21 June.

"This year we're really encouraging people to make sure they've updated their details or have enrolled well before the election," said Mr Wicks. "If people enrol early, they will receive from the Chief Electoral Officer an EasyVote pack in the mail before the election. This pack will contain information on voting and an EasyVote card that will make the voting process much easier."

ENDS

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