How to vote

1. COVID-19 safety measures

Staff at voting places will be wearing masks. We’d encourage you to wear a mask too. We’ll have disposable masks available if you’d like one. There’ll be hand sanitiser to use, and if you like, you can bring your own pen to mark your voting paper.

2. Bring your EasyVote card

Take your EasyVote card with you as it will make voting faster. You can still vote if you forget your card or don’t have one.

3. Follow directions

Election workers at your voting place will show you what to do and where to go. They’ll also manage the queues to give voters more space.

4. Vote in the Tauranga by-election

You have one vote, for the candidate you want to be your local member of Parliament. This is di erent from a general election when you have two votes – one for a party and the other for your local candidate.

5. Your electorate vote

Your electorate vote is for choosing the candidate you would like to be the member of Parliament (MP) for the area you live in. The candidate with the most votes in your electorate becomes your electorate MP.

On your voting paper, place a tick by the name of the candidate you would most like to represent your local area.

6. Place your voting paper in the ballot boxes provided

And that’s it — you’ve voted!

Where to get more information about enrolling and voting

• Visit vote.nz

• Call 0800 36 76 56

• Visit facebook.com/voteNZ

If you know someone this information would help, please tell them about it. Information about enrolling and voting is also available in other languages at vote.nz

Can’t get to a voting place?

If getting to a voting place is di cult or not possible, several options are available to make sure you can still vote. If you’re in a rest home, the Electorate Manager will contact the manager of your rest home to arrange voting services.

If you can’t get to a voting place because you are in hospital, from Saturday 4 June, a friend or family member can bring you your voting papers.

If you can’t get to a voting place because you have COVID-19 or you are isolating, or because you have poor health or mobility, you can get help to vote. Find out more at vote.nz or call >strong>0800 36 76 56 to talk over your options.

Voting from overseas

If you’re voting from overseas, you must be enrolled by midnight Friday 17 June.

You can enrol or update your details at vote.nz You can vote from overseas from Wednesday 1 June until 7.00pm, Saturday 18 June (NZ time).

The easiest and quickest way to vote from overseas is to download and print your voting papers and then upload them at vote.nz You may also be able to vote in person at your nearest overseas voting place, or ask them for postal voting papers to be sent to you. If these options don’t work for you, please contact us. These options may depend on the COVID-19 situation in your area.

Check vote.nz for the latest information about voting from overseas. If you need help to vote from overseas, please contact us.

Email: overseas@vote.nz

Phone from overseas: +64 9 909 4182 (international call rates may apply)

Phone from New Zealand: 0800 36 76 56

Need help to read or mark your voting papers?

A friend, family member or electoral official can help you to read or mark your voting paper. That person can:

• go behind the voting screen with you

• read out the words and information on the voting paper

• mark the voting paper for you if you ask them to.

They can’t tell you who you should vote for in the Tauranga by-election.

If you’re blind, partially blind or have a physical disability that means you can’t mark your voting paper without help, you can vote using the phone dictation service.

You need to register to use this service. Call 0800 028 028 and select option 1 to register.

You can register from Thursday 12 May until 12pm Saturday 18 June

Visit vote.nz to fi nd out more about this service.