Nearly One Million Ballots Cast as New Zealand Early Voting Surges

New Zealand early voting has surged ahead of the country’s general election on 7 November, with nearly one million ballots already cast in the first week of advance voting, the country’s Electoral Commission said on Monday.

A total of 913,762 votes were cast between 26 October and 1 November, a 28 per cent jump compared with the same period during the 2023 election, according to the commission’s figures reported by Reuters.

FAKTA

• Early votes cast: 913,762 between 26 October and 1 November
• Change on 2023: Up 28 per cent on the same first-week period
• Busiest day: Saturday, when more than 190,000 votes were issued
• Election day: Saturday, 7 November
• Voting places: About 600 open daily this week, rising to more than 2,300 on election day
• Source of figures: New Zealand’s Electoral Commission

New Zealand early voting off to a strong start

The busiest day of the first week was Saturday, when more than 190,000 votes were issued, the commission said. Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne said voting had got off to a good start, with six more days to vote at the time the figures were released.

Around 600 voting places will be open daily this week, with that number rising to more than 2,300 on election day, the commission said.

(File photo: voters casting ballots at polling booths.)

New enrolment rules in focus

The strong early turnout comes despite new rules that ended enrolment 13 days before the election on 7 November. Critics of the change have argued that the earlier cut-off could deter participation, Reuters reported.

The commission has not attributed the surge in early voting to any single cause, and the figures released cover only the number of votes cast, not voters’ choices.

A tightly contested election

Latest polls still show no clear winner or coalition grouping in the tightly contested election, Reuters reported, leaving the outcome open as the final week of campaigning begins.

Early votes are counted alongside votes cast on election day, and the high advance turnout means a large share of the electorate will already have voted before polling day itself.

For more coverage of Asia, see Watan News’ Asia coverage.