General election candidates and voting locations revealed – Times

The list of candidates standing in east Auckland’s two electorates at this year’s general election has been publicly released.

Twelve candidates have put their names forward for the Botany and Pakuranga electorates, with six in each, according to the Electoral Commission.

Standing in Botany are:

John Armstrong, New Zealand Loyal
Bo Burns, ACT New Zealand
Dieuwe De Boer, New Conservatives
Christopher Luxon, National Party
Robert McNeil, Animal Justice Party
Kharag Singh, Labour Party

Standing in Pakuranga are:

John Alcock, Rock the Vote NZ
Simeon Brown, National Party
Nicholas Hancock, Animal Justice Party
Nerissa Henry, Labour Party
Parmjeet Parmar, ACT New Zealand
Phil Scothern, New Zealand Loyal

A total of 19 registered political parties and 567 candidates are contesting this year’s election, scheduled to be held on Saturday, October 14.

Candidate nominations have closed and voters can find a list of eligible parties and candidates as well as voting place locations online at www.vote.nz.

The Electoral Commission says 72 candidates are on party lists only while 46 candidates for registered parties are standing as electorate candidates only.

“This year, 56 electorate candidates are standing as independents or representing unregistered parties.

“The number of candidates standing both as an electorate candidate and on a party list is 393.”

Meanwhile, 3,480,699 New Zealanders are now on the electoral roll, which is almost 90 per cent of estimated eligible voters.

The easiest way for people to enrol to vote or update their details is online at www.vote.nz using their New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity, the Electoral Commission says.

“From October 2, when voting starts, you can enrol and vote at the same time at any voting place, including on election day, October 14.”

There will be 2600 places where Kiwis can vote in this year’s general election.

Deputy chief executive operations Anusha Guler says the Electoral Commission has worked with communities to put voting places in spaces that are easy to access.

“This election people will see voting places in and around the spaces where we all live and work, including malls and retail areas, transport hubs, marae, mosques, universities, schools, and community halls.

“If you enrolled before writ day on September 10, you’ll be sent an EasyVote pack in the mail, which will contain your nearest voting locations, key information about the election and an EasyVote card that will make voting quicker and easier.

“For those who aren’t already enrolled, it’s not too late. You can still enrol online, or at any voting place when you vote.”

Voting starts on October 2 and closes at 7pm on election day, October 14.

There will be more than 800 voting places open before election day and more than 2,300 voting places on election day.

“The days and times voting places are open prior to election day vary, so check before you go to vote on www.vote.nz or by calling 0800 36 76 56,” Guler says.