MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 11 October 2011
Electoral Enrolment Centre


Make Your Voice Heard at Home From Wherever You Are in the World

If you’re a Kiwi living overseas, you can still have your say in this year’s general election and referendum on our voting system, but first you’ll need to enrol.

“There are currently about 48,000 New Zealanders enrolled with an overseas mailing address, while on election day in 2008, there were nearly 60,000 voters enrolled with an overseas mailing address,” says Murray Wicks, Electoral Enrolment Centre National Manager.

“We are expecting similar numbers of Kiwis living overseas to enrol as there were at the last election, and are urging them to fill in and post, fax or email their enrolment form now so they can be sent all the information they need about voting from overseas,” Murray says.

To be eligible to enrol you must:
• be 18 years or older, and
• have lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in your life,
• be a New Zealand citizen and have been in New Zealand within the last three years, or
• be a permanent resident of New Zealand and have been in New Zealand in the last 12 months.

You can check whether you are enrolled, enrol or change your enrolment details online at www.elections.org.nz. Once you have entered your information you will be asked to either download and print the form, or get it sent to you. You will need to sign and return this form before you are enrolled or the change to your enrolment details can be made.

If you have any questions you can, call 0800 36 76 56, or if calling from overseas, phone +64 9 909 3484.

Instructions on how to vote when overseas can also be found at www.elections.org.nz.

“If you’re overseas and want to vote in this year’s election, enrol today. If you have friends and family overseas, remind them to enrol and vote,” he says.

“This election it’s more important than ever to have your say. Not only will New Zealand be voting for the politicians and political parties who will lead the country, we’ll also be voting on the system we use to choose those politicians,” says Murray.

ENDS

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