EnrolWhakauru

Enrolling to vote in Elections

If you want to vote or take part in elections, you need to be enrolled to vote. Make sure you're enrolled and ready to vote in the 2025 local elections – so you can have your say on the issues that affect you and your family.

Who can enrol to Vote?

You are eligible to enrol and vote if:

• you are 18 years or older AND
• you are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident AND
• you have lived in New Zealand for one year or more continuously at some point.

For the purposes of registering as an elector, a permanent resident is someone who is entitled to live indefinitely in New Zealand.

• If you hold a resident visa or a permanent resident visa and have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more you are eligible to enrol and vote.
• If you are a Cook Island Maori, Australian, Niuean or Tokelauan you can enrol once you have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months – you do not have to hold a resident visa to enrol and vote.
• If you have to leave New Zealand by a set date you are not a permanent resident for electoral purposes and you are NOT eligible to enrol and vote. This includes people who have student, work or visitor permits.

Choosing your electoral roll

If you are of Māori descent and enrolling for the first time, you have an important choice to make. You need to decide which electoral roll you want to be on: the general roll or the Māori roll.

After you have enrolled, you can only change rolls during the Māori Electoral Option which takes place every 5 or 6 years (after the Census). The next Māori Electoral Option is currently scheduled for 2024.

Enrolling or updating your details is easy. Do it online here.