World

Overseas New Zealanders can start voting from Wednesday

October 21, 2026 5:55 pm

[Source: Reuters]

New Zealanders living or travelling overseas can vote in the ​country’s 2026 general election from ‌Wednesday, ahead of advance voting starting next week in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s ​general election will take place ​on November 7 with recent opinion ⁠polls showing no party, or likely ​coalition grouping, with a clear ​majority.

New Zealand Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne said overseas voters could download ​their voting papers from the ​official election website and return them by ‌uploading ⁠them to the site.

The Electoral Commission is also offering in-person or postal voting at 64 ​overseas locations, ​including 10 ⁠in Australia, home to the largest share of overseas-enrolled ​New Zealand voters.

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About 126,000 ​enrolled ⁠voters have told the commission they are living overseas, compared with ⁠92,600 ​in 2023. Nearly ​two-thirds of them are in Australia.