You can still enrol to vote in the 2025 local elections up until 10 October 2025.
If you enrol after 1 August 2025, you won’t receive your voting papers in the mail. Instead, you’ll need to cast a special vote.
You can enrol to vote or update your enrolment details at vote.nz. Enrolling is easy to do – it takes 30 seconds to do online.
Enrol online on the Electoral Commission website
You can also:
- email enrol@vote.nz
- call 0800 36 76 56, or
- freetext your name and address to 3676
If your enrolment details were up to date before 1 August 2025, check your mailbox for your voting papers between 9 – 22 September 2025.
Enrolment packs
If you’re enrolled to vote for the parliamentary elections, then you’re automatically enrolled for Council elections too.
If you were already enrolled, you would have received an enrolment update pack in the mail in early April. If all your details were correct then you don’t need to do anything. If you didn’t receive an enrolment update pack, you’re either not enrolled or you need to update your address or enrolment details.
Who can enrol
You can enrol as a resident if you:
- Are 18 years or older
- Are a New Zealand Citizen or permanent resident
- Have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.
If you’re unsure where to enrol, you can enrol at the address where you spend a substantial part of your time. You can also enrol at the last residential address where you lived for at least 1 month, even if that was some time ago.
If you need help with enrolling or have accessibility needs, the Electoral Commission can help: Getting help to enrol | Electoral Commission website
General or Māori roll
If you’re enrolling for the first time and you are of Māori descent, you can choose to enrol on the General roll or the Māori roll.
Wellington city is divided into six wards - five geographic wards and the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward. Māori roll voters elect a Māori ward councillor, and general roll voters elect general ward councillors in their geographic area.
If you’re already enrolled, the deadline for changing between rolls was 10 July 2025 for the 2025 local elections. The option to change rolls for all voters of Māori descent will open again following the local election.
How to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer
If you own property in Wellington but live elsewhere you may be able to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer elector and vote in both areas. You can check your eligibility and enrol through our election provider:
Enrol as a non-resident ratepayer online | ElectioNZ.
You can also fill in the Enrolment Form for Ratepayer Electors (158KB PDF) and return it via one of the following methods:
- Email: nrr@electionz.com
- Post: Ratepayer Elector Enrolments, PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140
- In person: drop it off at the Council head office reception, Level 16, 113 The Terrace.
If you enrol after 1 August 2025, you’ll need to cast a special vote.
You can only enrol, or be nominated to enrol, once in each Council area, no matter how many properties you own in that area.
Contact us
Electoral Officials
Email: election@wcc.govt.nz