Voting rights & elections

This guide covers who is allowed to vote in New Zealand, how the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system works, how often general elections happen, and the duties that come with being on the electoral roll. Part of the citizenship test draws from this material, and the same knowledge supports the everyday rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

What the test expects you to know

• Who is eligible to vote in parliamentary elections, and at what age.
• That enrolling on the electoral roll is compulsory once you are eligible, but voting itself is a choice.
• How MMP gives each voter two votes (a party vote and an electorate vote) for 120 seats in Parliament.
• The 5% party vote threshold and the alternative path of winning one electorate seat.
• That Parliament's maximum term is three years, set under the Electoral Act 1993.
• The choice Māori voters have between the general roll and the Māori roll.
• The role of the Electoral Commission in running elections.
• The main offences under the Electoral Act 1993 and the duty to keep your enrolment up to date.

Who can vote

New Zealand is one of the few countries that lets non-citizens vote in national elections. To cast a vote at a general election, you must be at least 18 years old, be a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident, and have lived in New Zealand continuously for at least one year at some point in your life. You also need to be enrolled. These rules sit in section 74 of the Electoral Act 1993. The right to vote itself is protected by section 12 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990.

Once you meet those tests, the right to vote stays with you while you live in New Zealand, and continues for a limited time if you move overseas. The Electoral Commission's public site, vote.nz, is the main place to check whether you still qualify in your current situation.

Key facts:

• Minimum age to vote: 18. You can enrol from age 17, but you cannot vote until you turn 18.
• Eligible voters: New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.
• Residence requirement: at least 12 months of continuous residence in New Zealand at some point.
• All sentenced prisoners are disqualified from voting while incarcerated, regardless of sentence length, following the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (Royal Assent 19 December 2025; in force 20 December 2025). The total ban applies to offences committed on or after 20 December 2025. See the vote.nz summary of the 2025 changes.
• Up-to-date eligibility checks are at vote.nz.

Enrolling on the electoral roll

Enrolling means putting your name on the electoral roll so the Electoral Commission knows you are eligible to vote. In New Zealand, enrolment is a legal duty for everyone who qualifies, while voting itself is up to you. That two-part rule (you must enrol, you may then choose to vote) catches many newcomers by surprise.

You can enrol online at vote.nz, on paper, by freephone or freetext, and from overseas through a New Zealand embassy or high commission. You need to update your enrolment whenever you move house or change your name. Enrol well before an election: under the Electoral Amendment Act 2025, same-day enrolment has been abolished. Enrolment now closes 13 days before election day (at midnight on the Sunday before advance voting starts), so you cannot enrol during advance voting or on election day itself. See the vote.nz summary of the 2025 changes.

Key facts:

• Enrolment is compulsory for eligible people aged 18 and over.
• You can enrol from age 17, but cannot vote until 18.
• Enrolment closes 13 days before election day (midnight the Sunday before advance voting opens). Same-day enrolment was abolished by the Electoral Amendment Act 2025.
• Failing to enrol when you are eligible is an offence under the Electoral Act 1993. In practice, the Electoral Commission's focus is on helping people get on the roll, not prosecution.
• Update your details when you move so your name is on the right electorate roll.
• Other ways to enrol are listed at vote.nz.

How MMP works

New Zealand uses Mixed Member Proportional, or MMP. The system was adopted after referendums in 1992 and 1993, used for the first time in 1996, and confirmed by voters again in a 2011 referendum. The Electoral Commission's history page and Te Ara both set out the story of the change from the older First Past the Post system.

Under MMP, each voter gets two votes. The party vote chooses which party you want to form the government and matters more of the two, because it sets each party's share of seats in Parliament. The electorate vote chooses one local MP to represent your electorate.

Parliament normally has 120 seats. The majority are electorate seats, and the rest are filled from each party's ranked list of candidates to bring the total share into line with the party vote result. The RNZ explainer walks through this with worked examples.

The two thresholds

A party can win seats in Parliament in one of two ways. It can win at least 5% of the nationwide party vote, in which case it gets a share of seats roughly matching that percentage. Alternatively, it can win at least one electorate seat, which lets it bring in list MPs even if its party vote is below 5%. This second path is sometimes called the coat-tailing rule.

Overhang seats

Now and then a party wins more electorate seats than its party vote would justify. When that happens, those extra seats sit on top of the usual 120, and Parliament becomes slightly larger for that term. These are known as overhang seats.

Key facts:

• Each voter casts two votes: a party vote and an electorate vote.
• Parliament normally has 120 seats, sometimes plus a small overhang.
• A party needs 5% of the party vote, or one electorate seat, to enter Parliament.
• The first MMP election was in 1996. Voters confirmed MMP again at a 2011 referendum.
• See elections.nz on MMP for the official summary.

The electoral cycle

Under the Electoral Act 1993, Parliament can sit for no longer than three years from the date of the previous election. A general election must be held before that term ends, which is why New Zealand holds elections roughly every three years. The Prime Minister advises the Governor-General when to dissolve Parliament and set the election date, within that three-year limit — see democratic principles for why the three-year term is one of the most strongly protected rules in the system.

Local body elections (city and district councils, regional councils, and various boards) follow a different schedule under the Local Electoral Act 2001. They also run every three years, but in different years from the general election, and they are conducted mainly by postal vote.

Key facts:

• Maximum parliamentary term: 3 years.
• The Prime Minister advises the Governor-General on when to dissolve Parliament and set the election date, within that limit. The Governor-General then issues the writ.
• Local elections run on their own cycle, mostly by post, under the Local Electoral Act 2001.

How and when you vote

Once you are enrolled, the Electoral Commission posts you an EasyVote card before the election. The card speeds up check-in at the voting place but is not strictly required to vote.

You can vote on election day itself, or during the advance voting period that runs in the roughly two weeks before. Voting places are set up at schools, marae, libraries, malls, and other community venues. If you cannot get to a voting place, options include postal voting, telephone dictation voting for blind, partially sighted, or disabled voters, and overseas voting from any New Zealand embassy or high commission. Details are on vote.nz.

Key facts:

• Advance voting runs for the 12 days before election day (a fixed statutory period). Enrolment must be completed before advance voting opens.
• A special vote is one cast outside your home electorate, or before your enrolment is finalised; these are counted slightly later.
• Telephone dictation voting is available for blind, partially sighted, and disabled voters.
• Citizens overseas can vote if they have visited New Zealand in the last 3 years. Permanent residents must have visited within the last 12 months.
• Voting information is published by the Electoral Commission and vote.nz.

The Māori roll

Voters of Māori descent can choose between the general electoral roll and the Māori electoral roll. That choice decides which electorate they vote in, not which parties they can vote for. The number of Māori electorate seats is set by a formula based on how many Māori voters choose the Māori roll.

You can change rolls at most points in the electoral cycle. The Electoral Commission publishes the current rules at vote.nz.

Key facts:

• Open only to voters of Māori descent.
• Roll choice affects which electorate (and electorate candidate) you vote for, not your party vote.
• The number of Māori seats adjusts with the population of voters on the Māori roll.

Responsibilities and offences

Voting is private and personal. You vote alone in a booth, you decide for yourself, and no one is allowed to pressure you or see how you voted. The Electoral Act 1993, as amended by the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (in force 20 December 2025), treats several things as offences, including voting more than once, voting when you are not entitled (note that all sentenced prisoners are now disqualified while incarcerated, regardless of sentence length), helping someone vote against their will, and tampering with ballots. These are serious offences that can lead to fines or imprisonment.

The flip side of those rules is the duty to keep your enrolment accurate. Update your details if you move house, change your name, or become a citizen.

Key facts:

• One person, one vote at each election. Voting more than once is an offence.
• Your vote is secret. No one can demand to know how you voted.
• Keep your enrolment up to date whenever your details change.

Who runs elections

The Electoral Commission is the independent agency that runs parliamentary elections, manages the electoral roll, registers parties and candidates, and educates voters. Its public site is vote.nz and its institutional site is elections.nz. Local councils, helped by contracted electoral officers, run local body elections.

Key facts:

• The Electoral Commission is independent of any political party.
• It runs general elections, by-elections, and referendums.
• Councils run local body elections under the Local Electoral Act 2001.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Only New Zealand citizens can vote in general elections

Reality: Permanent residents who meet the residence test can also vote. New Zealand is unusual in this.

Myth: Voting is compulsory

Reality: Enrolment is compulsory once you are eligible. Voting itself is your choice.

Myth: The party that wins the most electorate seats forms the government

Reality: Under MMP, the party vote is what decides each party's share of Parliament. Government is usually formed by whichever side can put together a majority of those seats.

Myth: You have to vote for the same party with both your votes

Reality: You can split your votes, and many voters do.

Myth: If you forget your EasyVote card, you cannot vote

Reality: You can still vote without it. The card only makes check-in quicker.

Quick self-check

Learn more

Primary law

• Electoral Act 1993: the main law for parliamentary elections, enrolment, and voting.
• Local Electoral Act 2001: the law for council and local body elections.

Official explainers

• vote.nz: Electoral Commission's public-facing site.
• Other ways to enrol (vote.nz): paper forms, freephone, freetext, embassy options.
• Voting from overseas (vote.nz)
• elections.nz: Electoral Commission's institutional site.
• How our electoral system works (vote.nz help)
• What is MMP? (elections.nz)
• The introduction of MMP (elections.nz)

Plain-English background

• Te Ara: Electoral systems: history of New Zealand voting systems.
• RNZ: Our MMP voting system explained: plain-English walkthrough with examples.
• Electoral Reform Society: New Zealand's MMP system: comparative perspective on MMP.

Sources & review: Written by the Citizen Test editorial team from publicly available NZ civics material. Primary sources: govt.nz, legislation.govt.nz, and beehive.govt.nz. Last reviewed 12 May 2026.