Your guide to voting in the Hamilton West by-election
Vote in the Hamilton West by-election
Voting in the Hamilton West by-election begins on Monday 28 November. Your last chance to vote is on election day, Saturday 10 December.
Make sure you’re enrolled and your details are up to date.
To vote, you need to be enrolled. You must enrol if you are 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident, and you’ve lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life. You can only vote in the Hamilton West by-election if you are enrolled in the Hamilton West general electorate.
Your EasyVote pack
If you enrolled by Wednesday 2 November, you’ll get an EasyVote pack in the mail. Your EasyVote pack will tell you when you can vote and who you can vote for. Your pack will also include your personalised EasyVote card, which makes voting faster and easier. You can still vote without your EasyVote card, but it may take longer. If you enrol after Wednesday 2 November, including on election day, you won’t get your EasyVote card. You’ll need to cast a special vote which takes longer.
Enrol, check or update your details online
It’s easy to enrol, check or update your details. Go online to vote.nz to check if you’re enrolled. You can enrol or update your details at vote.nz using your New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity, or call 0800 36 76 56 to ask for an enrolment form to be sent to you.
Vote early
The Hamilton West by-election will be held on Saturday 10 December. Vote early so you spend less time in a queue — you don’t need to wait until election day to vote.
Voting opens: Monday 28 November
Voting closes: 7pm on election day, Saturday 10 December
Hamilton West electorate
The Hamilton West electorate comprises the Hamilton city suburbs west of the Waikato River including Melville, Frankton, Nawton, Pukete, and Te Rapa. It also includes Woodridge and parts of Flagstaff, which are east of the Waikato River.
Voting in the Hamilton West by-election
You can vote from Monday 28 November to Friday 9 December at any advance voting place. You can also enrol, check or update your details at the same time. The days and times when advance voting places are open vary. Check before you go to vote at vote.nz. On election day, Saturday 10 December, all voting places will be open from 9am to 7pm. You can enrol on election day itself, but you’ll also need to cast a special vote which takes longer. Information about where and when to vote, and who you can vote for, will be available at vote.nz or by calling 0800 36 76 56. It will also be included in your EasyVote pack.
How to vote
1. 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.
2. Follow directions
Election workers at your voting place will show you what to do and where to go.
3. Vote in the Hamilton West by-election
You have one vote, for the candidate you want to be your local member of Parliament. This is different from a general election when you have two votes – one for a party and the other for your local candidate.
4. 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.
5. 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 difficult or not possible, several options are available to make sure you can still vote. If you’re in a care home, the Electorate Manager will contact the manager of your care home to arrange voting services. If you can’t get to a voting place because you are in hospital, from Monday 28 November, a friend or family member can bring you your voting papers. If you can’t get to a voting place, for example, because of illness, age or disability, you can get help to vote. Find out more at vote.nz or call 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 9 December. You can enrol or update your details at vote.nz
You can vote from overseas from Wednesday 23 November until 7pm, Saturday 10 December (NZ time).
The easiest and quickest way to vote from overseas is to download and complete your voting papers and then upload them at vote.nz
You may also be able to vote in person at an overseas voting place in London or Sydney, or ask them for postal voting papers to be sent to you. If these options don’t work for you, please contact us.
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 Hamilton West 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 3 November until 12pm Saturday 10 December.
Visit vote.nz to find out more about this service.