By Liam van Eeden

If you’re planning on posting your vote via mail, today is the last day to do it - but don’t worry, you have until Saturday October 8 to drop your vote into a ballot box ?️

Here’s everything you need to know about voting in this year’s local elections.

Where can I vote?

If you’re planning on sending your voting papers via mail, you need to do that today to make sure they arrive on time.  

You can also drop your vote into a ballot box in your local area. 

In most places around the country, you can find a ballot box in supermarkets, libraries, community centres and even The Warehouse.

To find out where your nearest ballot box location is, check out your local council’s website:

For all other areas, check out your local council’s website or contact the relevant Electoral Officer.

Can I still vote if I haven’t received my voting papers?

Yes! ? If you haven’t received it, or your voting papers got lost or damaged, you can still cast a special vote. 

To cast a special vote, you need to pop into a local special voting hub before 12pm this Saturday October 8. 

Most special voting hubs are in community centres and libraries. To find out where your nearest special voting location is, check out your local council’s website:

For all other areas, check out your local council’s website, or contact the relevant Electoral Officer.

? You need to enrol to vote before you cast a special vote. So if you aren’t enrolled, you’ll need to do that online before heading to a special voting location (but don’t worry, enrolling to vote is really easy). 

Can I still vote if I’m overseas at the moment?

If you’re a New Zealand citizen and have lived in Aotearoa in the past three years, you can cast a special vote while overseas.

Unfortunately, the deadline to apply for an overseas special vote was September 16. 

So unless you’ve already applied, it’s too late to cast a vote overseas.

Who tf do I vote for?

Not knowing who to vote for can be a big barrier for local elections.

Fortunately, policy.nz is a handy online tool that shows you who’s running in your local area and what they stand for.

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