The general election is weeks away with advance voting opening in a matter of hours and the Electoral Commission is expecting its popularity to continue to grow.
Kiwis will soon have their say with two ticks, one for the party vote and the other for their local candidate.
Overseas voting began on September 27, advance voting kicks off on October 2 and the big day, election day is October 14.
Deputy chief executive of operations at the Electoral Commission Anusha Guler said the uptake in advance voting has become more and more popular in recent elections.
In 2014, the proportion of people voting in advance was 29 percent, in 2017 it was 47 percent and its popularity has continued to climb, in 2020 it was 68 percent.
Anusha is expecting more and more Kiwis to jump onboard the advance voting bus at the 2023 election.
"We’re prepared for a similar proportion of voters as we saw in 2020 to vote in advance again in 2023.
"With the increase in uptake, the Commission has increased it advance voting services, which includes finding locations where polling booths can open on weekdays and recruiting staff to work there.
It's about accessibility too, the Commission said it works hard to find locations where Kiwis live and work, especially near shopping areas and public transport hubs.
Why advance voting?
The Commission believes the growing popularity of advance voting comes down to the convenience for people to fit voting into their daily routines."
For example, voting on the way to or from work or study, or when out shopping."
Anusha told Newshub the first voting places will open on October 2 and as we edge closer to election day more and more places will open.
The Commission said the opening hours of advance voting places will vary and encouraged Kiwis to check their local polling booth's hours at vote.nz before going to vote.
A list of local voting places will also be included in people’s EasyVote packs.
The Electoral Commission's 'find your voting place' map shows over 2700 polling booths spread across the motu. When a location is selected the opening hours are listed.
Anusha encourages Kiwis to "make sure you enrol and vote so you can have your say this election!"
