Just under a quarter of enrolled New Zealanders had already voted by the end of the first week of advance voting, Electoral Commission figures released on 2 November show, with four days left before polling day on Saturday 7 November.
The commission counted 913,762 votes between Monday 26 October and Sunday 1 November. That is about 24 per cent of those enrolled. At the same point in 2023, 712,192 people had voted, or roughly 19 per cent, so this year's tally is running about 28 per cent higher.
RNZ, which reported the commission's daily chart, said the count had beaten the equivalent 2023 day every day since booths opened. Xinhua, citing the commission, reported that Saturday 31 October was the busiest day so far, with more than 190,000 votes issued.
The pace is still well short of 2020, however. In that pandemic-era campaign, which also opened advance voting earlier, 1.16 million people had already voted by the equivalent point.
The high early turnout follows a law change that closed enrolment at midnight on 25 October, the day before advance voting opened. At earlier elections, people could still enrol or update their details on election day itself, casting a special vote as they did so. The NZ Herald reported on 29 October that 93.5 per cent of eligible people, or 3,787,116, were enrolled as of 28 October, down from 94.7 per cent in 2023, with about 263,000 eligible voters estimated to be missing from the roll.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has said late enrolments put too much strain on the system and slowed the count. Chris Hipkins, the Labour leader, and Chlöe Swarbrick, the Greens co-leader, have argued the change falls hardest on young, Māori, Pasifika and transient voters.
About 600 voting places are open around the country each day this week, rising to more than 2300 on election day.
In Southland, voters are choosing MPs in the Invercargill and Southland electorates, both held by National, alongside the party vote. The Herald reported last week that enrolment in the two seats had slipped to 93.6 per cent.
The Electoral Commission is due to declare official results, including special votes, on 27 November.
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