Advance voting has been open since Monday and people have questions - and not just of the “When will this dull, white bread election campaign be over?” variety.
Here are some answers to a few of them.
My EasyVote card still hasn’t arrived – do I need it to vote?
No!
While an estimated 1.4 million New Zealanders were still without their EasyVote cards on Wednesday, you don’t need one to cast your vote.
University of Otago electoral law professor Andrew Geddis told Breakfast the cards are just an easier way for electoral officials to find your name on the electoral roll.
"You can still go into a voting place – just give them your name and you will get a ballot paper in the same way,” he said.
"It’s an administrative matter - it’s not a right to vote matter."
While we’re at it, you don’t need ID when you turn up to vote either.
Why are there no “I voted” stickers being handed out this time? I like stickers!
Apparently, the “I voted” stickers haven’t been around since the 2017 election.
The Electoral Commission said some overseas voting places may have excess stock of the stickers but those voting in Aotearoa shouldn’t expect them.
“We made this call based around fewer people wanting stickers after they voted,” a spokesperson said.
“We’re seeing a few people on social media missing them. We review our voting processes after each election and we will have a look at this again.”
The Electoral Commission has some virtual voting stickers people can use this year.
Or just make your own with a post-it note, I guess.
How many advance votes have there been so far?
Advance voting has been slower to take off compared to the 2020 election.
Monday saw 58,308 people cast their advance votes, compared to 92,434 people on the first day of voting last time around.
The total across the first three days of advance voting has been 204,191 votes. More than 264,000 people had cast their votes by the same time in 2020.
Is this an indication of a lower voter turnout for 2023?
Who can say? Perhaps everyone is waiting until election day itself on October 14 - or maybe just a weekend day - to cast their vote this time.
Maybe people wanted to get out and vote early in 2020 in case they wound up in lockdown again.
Or perhaps an overall lack of enthusiasm for the election campaign is translating into a lack of enthusiasm to vote.
Labour will certainly be hoping the turnout is good. As Jack Tame discovered during some analysis of previous elections, a lower voter turnout has historically not gone so well for Labour.
Where can I vote?
But if you are planning to vote this weekend, you can find your nearest advance voting booth here.
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