Labour leader Chris Hipkins has criticised the Electoral Commission for not ensuring all eligible New Zealanders have their voting packs prior to voting starting this week.
In a Zoom press conference, the COVID-19-positive incumbent Prime Minister said it was a "serious error" by the independent commission and the Labour Party had raised concerns.
He wanted eligible New Zealanders to know they could vote regardless of whether they have an EasyVote Card.
"I understand that the Electoral Commission hasn't posted these out to every household before voting opened and up to a million New Zealanders have not yet received their EasyVote Cards," Hipkins said.
"I think that is a serious error on the part of the Electoral Commission. We know from our doorknockers and our phone canvassers it is creating huge confusion with voters.
"You do not need an EasyVote Card to vote, in fact, you do not need to be enrolled and you do not need to take identification with you when you go to vote. If you are a New Zealander over the age of 18, you need to show up to a polling booth and the staff will arrange for you to be able to vote."
He said that it wasn't acceptable to be this far into an election with so many Kiwis not having their voting packs.
"I think the Electoral Commission have one job, which is to run a successful election for all New Zealanders. Being this far into an election and having that many New Zealanders not having an EasyVote Card, and therefore believing they can't vote because they don't have it, that's not acceptable."
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said it was "disappointing" not all eligible Kiwis had their packs.
"That is not good. I used my EasyVote on Monday when I went off to vote and it was very seamless actually."
Karl Le Quesne, the Chief Electoral Officer, on Tuesday released a statement saying the commission expects most enrolled voters to have their packs by the end of the week.
"You can vote with or without your EasyVote card – voting is easy and only takes about five minutes," he said.
"As seen in previous elections, it is not unusual for EasyVote packs to arrive after voting starts. Most people will have already received their packs in the mail, and those that haven’t arrived are scheduled to be delivered soon."
More than 3.4 million EasyVote packs are being sent to eligible New Zealanders, with the commission saying about 2 million have already been delivered. The rest are expected to be delivered in the coming days.
Producing the packs was a large operation, the commission said, as it can begin once candidate nominations close on September 15. Early voting began on October 2.
"We send packs to larger rural electorates first, and then urban electorates," said Le Quesne.
There was a production issue causing delays to packs for the Epsom, Mount Albert and Papakura electorates.
"There was a possibility that the wrong voting place list may have been included in a small number of packs for the Epsom, Mount Albert and Papakura electorates. The packs have been reprinted to ensure voters have the correct information, and will be delivered as soon as possible," said Le Quesne.
The commission said the delivery of packs to voters in these electorates will start on October 6 and are expected to be completed by October 11 or 12 - just two days out from the October 14 election day.
Kiwis enrolled at their current address by September 10 will be sent an EasyVote pack.
"The pack includes information on how to vote, who the candidates are, and where you can vote. Also included is an EasyVote card that you can take to the voting place to help staff easily find your name on the electoral roll.
"You don’t need to wait for your EasyVote card to vote. If you haven’t got your card, staff at the voting place will ask for your name and address and look you up on the electoral roll to make sure you receive the correct voting papers."
More than 129,000 people have already cast their vote for this election. That's below the 159,000 which did within two days of the 2020 election, but higher than the nearly 89,000 at this point in 2017.
The Electoral Commission has been contacted for further comment.
