After weeks of billboards, bold promises and bickering, the campaign is officially finished, and it’s over to you, New Zealand.
Voting places are open between 9am and 7pm today, and the Electoral Commission has one simple request: keep your political pitch to yourself.
If you haven’t voted yet, and well over 1.5 million already have, a few things are worth knowing before you head out. Here’s what’s in, what’s out, and how to watch it all play out tonight.
1News: Your Vote 2026 Election Night Special begins at 7pm tonight on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+, accompanied by live coverage throughout the evening on 1News.co.nz
How and where
More than 2300 voting places are open across the country, from community halls and schools to shopping malls, marae and tertiary campuses.
Over 220 are Whare Pōti Māori, 67 of those bilingual, and 1679 are fully accessible, with New Zealand Sign Language interpreters at six locations and quiet times at three. To find your nearest, or one that suits you, search vote.nz or call 0800 36 76 56.
Enrolment closed on October 25, so you can’t sign up at the door, and anyone who enrolled after Writ Day on October 4 will need to cast a special vote.
What to expect at the ballot box
You can vote at any voting place in the country, but heading to one in your own electorate is usually quicker, because you’ll be on the printed roll there and staff can issue your papers more easily. Election workers, in orange vests, will show you where to go.
Bring your EasyVote card if you have one, and hand it over at the desk. If you’ve forgotten it or never received one, you can still vote. Staff will ask for your name and address, find you on the roll and give you your papers.
In a general election you get two votes: a party vote and an electorate vote. Mark your papers in private behind a voting screen, then put them in the ballot box. If you need help reading or marking them, a friend, family member or election worker can assist.
TVNZ has extensive coverage of the election campaign. (Source: TVNZ)
How to watch TVNZ's election coverage
1News: Your Vote 2026 Election Night Special begins at 7pm tonight on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+, as polls close and results start coming in. Hosted by Jack Tame and Tova O’Brien, the coverage will feature a panel of political experts offering live analysis, reaction and insight throughout the night.
Preliminary results will be released progressively from 7pm. Advance votes can be published from 7pm, and the Commission has said it aims to publish the totals for votes cast today by around 10.30pm to 11pm. Official results will be declared on November 27.
Tomorrow, The Morning After begins at 7.30am on TVNZ 1 with Tagata Pasifika’s political round-up. A two-hour Q+A special with Jack Tame follows at 8am, covering the post-election developments and talking to those in line to form the next government. From 10am, Marae looks at what the results mean for Māori.
What you can't do
Campaign material is entirely off limits. You can’t display, deliver, wear or distribute it, and you can’t publish any election advertising. Signs and hoardings should have come down from fences and roadsides by now, and vehicles carrying signs, bumper stickers and flags with party or candidate material must be kept out of public view.
Parties and MPs can leave fixed signs on their offices and headquarters but only if they went up before election day and aren’t related to the campaign.
Attempts to influence votes are also firmly off the table. That means no telling anyone to vote, or not vote, for a candidate or party. That rule extends online: anything posted to social media or a website today that could sway voters is banned.
Existing material can stay up only if it isn’t updated today, is only available to people who search for it, sits on a non-advertised site, and is not reposted today.
Election-related demonstrations or processions are banned — megaphones included — and so is polling voters about how they voted or anything else to do with the election.
Inside voting places, you can’t film or photograph voting papers or people as they vote, or do anything that disrupts voting. Candidates or promoters can be filmed voting only if they’ve arranged it in advance with the returning officer.
What you can do
Supporters can wear a party lapel badge or rosette. It can show party colours, the party name and branding, but not a candidate’s name, and it must carry a promoter statement. Party colours, such as streamers, are allowed on people or vehicles only.
You can also contact people to remind them it’s election day or offer them a lift to a voting place, as long as you don’t try to influence how they vote. Anyone planning to phone voters can check their script with the Commission first.
The Commission says it doesn’t actively monitor conduct on election day, but it will respond to complaints. It can remove material found to break the rules, so anyone who believes someone is breaking them can contact the Commission.
1News: Your Vote 2026 Election Night Special - live at 7pm on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
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