Overseas Voting Opens for New Zealand's Election: Some 126,000 Enrolled Overseas, Nearly Two-Thirds of Them in Australia
Wellington, New Zealand — New Zealanders living overseas can vote from Wednesday, October 21, in the country's 2026 general election, with polling day on November 7, Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne said. Some 126,000 voters are enrolled overseas, up from 92,600 in 2023, and nearly two-thirds of them live in Australia.
Overseas voters can cast ballots in person or by post at 64 locations abroad, including 10 in Australia, or download their voting papers from the official election website and return them by upload. Advance voting inside New Zealand begins next week.
Polls currently show no single party or bloc with a clear majority, pointing to potentially complex coalition negotiations after the vote. The enlarged overseas roll means expatriate New Zealanders are set to play a bigger role in this election than in previous ones.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 新西兰国会蜂巢大楼（Wellington）。图：Daderot，Wikimedia Commons，CC0。 / The Beehive, New Zealand's Parliament in Wellington. Photo by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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