Voting is now open for New Zealand’s 2026 general election, with advance voting starting on Monday 26 October 2026.
A general election is when New Zealanders choose who will run the country. Election day is Saturday 7 November, but people can vote early at advance voting places right up until then.
The two people hoping to be prime minister, National’s Christopher Luxon and Labour’s Chris Hipkins, both cast their votes on the first day.
New Zealand uses a voting system called MMP, which gives each voter two votes. One is for a political party, and the other is for a person to represent their local area, called an electorate.
To vote, people must be 18 or older, be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and have lived here for at least a year at some point. Enrolment closed on 25 October, so people can’t sign up to vote at a voting place this year.
On election day, more than 2,300 voting places will be open from 9am until 7pm. Results will start coming in from 7pm that night, but the official results won’t be announced until 27 November.
Polls suggest the race is close, so it may take some time after election night to know who will form the next government.
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