Advance voting starts on Monday

Voting in the 2017 General Election kicks off in earnest on Monday 11 September when advance voting places open, and will go through until election day on Saturday 23 September.

The first EasyVote packs will start arriving in voters’ letter boxes from today, with 3.16 million to be delivered over the next week. EasyVote packs are being sent to all voters who were enrolled before 23 August and include a personalised EasyVote card which makes voting quicker.

There are 485 advance voting places around the country, up from 295 in 2014. Opening hours vary between voting places to suit local needs.

“There has been a big increase in advance voting over the past two elections, so this election, we are providing even more voting places in convenient locations where people can cast an early vote,” says Alicia Wright, Chief Electoral Officer. “People will also be able to enrol, check or update their enrolment details at any advance voting place – so they’ll be able to enrol and vote at the same time.”

“Advance voting places are located where people live, work, study and shop, including universities and shopping malls, and many of them are open after hours and at weekends,” says Ms Wright.

Most advance voting places are fully accessible or accessible with assistance for people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility.

There are also special arrangements in place for some voters including:

• Mobile advance voting services in some rural areas including Northland, Gisborne, Kaikoura and the West Coast of the South Island.

• Electoral Commission teams visiting hospitals, rest homes and remand centres to collect votes

• Dictation voting service for blind and low-vision voters

A full list of advance voting places is available at https://www.elections.org.nz/events/2017-general-election/information-voters-who-when-and-where. Voters can also phone 0800 36 76 56 to find out where their closest voting place is.

Voting from overseas began on Wednesday 6 September. People who are overseas during the voting period can download voting papers fromwww.elections.org.nz, vote in person at overseas posts in many countries, or vote by post. More information can be found at http://www.elections.org.nz/overseas

ENDS

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