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Electoral Commission
Wednesday, September 8, 2017
Voting in the 2017 General Election kicks off in earnest on Monday, September 11, 2017, when advance voting places open, and will go through until election day on Saturday, September 23, 2017.
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 August 23 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.
Advance Voting increases
Chief Electoral Commissioner Alicia Wright said that there has been a big increase in advance voting over the past two elections.
“So, in this election, we are providing even more voting places in convenient locations where people can cast an early vote. People will also be able to enrol, check or update their enrolment details at any advance voting place – hence they will 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,” she said.
Most advance voting places are fully accessible or accessible with assistance for people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility.
Special Arrangements
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 0800-367656 to find out where their closest voting place.
Voting from overseas began on Wednesday, September 6, 2017.
People who are overseas during the voting period can download voting papers from www.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
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Photo Caption:
Alicia Wright
