Updated: 8:55am – Polling stations are about to open in this year’s hard-fought election. Polling booths open at 9am across the country and will stay open till 7pm tonight.
People are expected to start trickling into polling places soon after they open, with 9am until 11am predicted by the Electoral Commission to be the busiest time.
Fair weather is forecast for most places.
Those needing information about where to go to cast their vote can find out online, at [www.elections.org.nz elections.org.nz], or by phoning 0800 36 76 56.
They can get a list of candidates the same way.
The latest figures show just over 3.2 million people were enrolled to vote at 6pm last night – 91 percent of eligible voters. That was slightly down on last election, when 92.6 percent of eligible people were enrolled.
However, people were still enrolling to vote late yesterday afternoon and yesterday’s count may not have included all last-minute enrolments.
Despite concerted efforts to increase enrolments among younger people – which have been lower than other age groups – the figures released yesterday showed enrolments among 18 to 24-year-olds and 25 to 29-year-olds were similar to or lower than 2014 numbers.
Less than 70 percent of eligible voters aged 18 to 24 had enrolled according to the figures released yesterday.
Last election, 72 percent of that age group had enrolled, even without taking late enrollments into account.
-RNZ
