Raglan Naturally Community Trust, Taurikura and the Toitū Whaingaroa community are helping to get our community ready to vote in the 2026 general election.
2026 is a general election year. This is when we vote for the people and parties who will represent us in Parliament and form a government. Election day is 7 November 2026.
Since the last election, the government has made a very big change to how we can vote.
To be able to vote in the general election on 7 November 2026, you must be enrolled by midnight, Sunday 25th October.
If you have moved you must also have updated your address before midnight Sunday 25th October.
If you have not enrolled or changed your address by midnight Sunday 25th October, you will not be able to vote in the general election on 7 November 2026.
This is a major change from the previous elections when you could enrol and vote at the same time.
This will potentially affect hundreds of thousands of voters.
During the 2023 general election, there were 450,000 people who enrolled to vote or changed their details during the 12-day period leading up to election day. In 2023, there were 110,000 people who enrolled to vote or changed their details on election day.
Want to make your vote count – make sure you are enrolled
Many people are not aware of the rule change made by this government. Because of this significant change, the Electoral Commission has a major focus on making sure we all are enrolled by 25th October.
Here are some key messages to share with whānau and friends. You can get more information from vote.nz
If you are not enrolled, get enrolled now. Check to see whether your whānau and friends are enrolled. If they are not enrolled, help them to get enrolled.
You can enrol online or using a paper form. (go to vote.nz)
You can enrol to vote if you:
are 18 years or older;
are a New Zealand citizen or resident for electoral purposes; and
you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.
The Māori Electoral option – If you’re Māori and enrolling for the first time you can choose to be on either the Māori roll or the general roll.
If you’re on the Māori roll, you’ll vote for a candidate in a Māori electorate. The Māori electorate for this area is Hauraki-Waikato. If you’re on the general roll, you’ll vote for a candidate in a general electorate. The general electorate for this area is Taranaki-King Country. Your roll choice doesn’t affect your party vote – every voter has the same options for their party vote.
Numbers on the Māori roll also help to determine the total number of Māori electorates.
You can’t change rolls in the 3 months before election day. If you are already enrolled and want to change rolls, you need to make your choice by midnight, Thursday 6 August.
Moved house since the last election? – you must have updated your address before midnight Sunday 25th October.
Turn 18 before 7 November 2026? – you can submit an enrolment form now. On your birthday you’ll be added to the roll. Make sure to check after your birthday that you have been added.
Got whānau and friends overseas? – make sure they are enrolled.
You can enrol and vote from overseas if:
you are 18 years or older
you’ve lived in New Zealand for more than 12 months continuously at some time in your life; AND
You are a New Zealand citizen and have been in New Zealand within the past 3 years; OR
You are a resident for electoral purposes of New Zealand who has been in New Zealand within the past 12 months.
If whānau or friends are enrolling from overseas, their electorate will be where they last lived for 1 month or more.
Whānau experiencing homelessness – those experiencing homelessness can enrol at the address where they spend a substantial part of their time. They can also enrol at the last residential address where they lived for at least 1 month, even if that was some time ago.
A postal address where electoral mail, such as enrolment confirmations, can be sent is needed when you enrol to vote. The postal address can be a PO Box, or the address of a friend, family member, church or support group, but it needs to be someone who will agree to hold mail for the person to collect.
Don’t want your details publicly available – apply to go on the confidential unpublished roll.
Not everyone feels safe enough to have their details publicly available on the electoral roll, but that doesn’t mean they lose the right to vote.
If you’re concerned about your personal safety, or that of your family, you can apply to go on the unpublished roll – this means your enrolment details do not appear on the printed electoral roll.
Go to vote.nz for more details on how to enrol on the unpublished roll.
Not sure if you are enrolled or want to check your details – check your details online to make sure you are enrolled.
Enrolling isn’t something you do once. You need to keep your enrollment up to date so you’re ready to vote.
The details you enter need to be an exact match for the details on file. If you have any problems you can call freephone 0800 36 76 56 and the Electoral team can check for you.
You can search for your enrolment details online at vote.nz.
Remember that to vote in the general election on November 7th you must be enrolled by midnight Sunday 25th October. We only get this opportunity every three years. Make sure your vote counts.
