Record overseas enrolments as Pacific voters and visitors cast ballots from abroad

Pacific voters outside New Zealand say the 7 November election result will be felt well beyond Aotearoa’s borders, with one Cook Islands voter saying rising New Zealand prices hit the realm "twice".

About 126,000 enrolled voters have told the Electoral Commission they live overseas, up from 92,600 in 2023. Nearly two-thirds are in Australia.

They can vote online or at 64 overseas locations, 10 of them in Australia.

Listen to Glenda Tuaine's full interview below.

Glenda Tuaine, who runs a company in Rarotonga, has voted at the New Zealand High Commission in every election since moving back to the Cook Islands.

Asked how easy it is to vote there, Tuaine tells PMN News it is really easy.

"It's just like when you paper vote, you do it like you do in Aotearoa. Exactly the same system, exactly the same structure.”

But she noticed fewer voters this time and believes election fatigue, after the Cook Islands' own election, is a factor.

"I think that people are really over the rhetoric and the game playing of politicians globally."

Asked what is top of mind for Pacific people this election, Tuaine says it is the cost of living, and with a lot of products coming from New Zealand the effects flow straight into the Cook Islands.

Overseas voting can be done online by going to www.vote.nz/2026-general-election/overseas/vote-from-overseas. Photo/Facebook/Votenz

"It has to get shipped or air freighted to us. Cost of aviation fuel and cost of diesel has gone up significantly. Therefore, we're hit twice."

She says a kilogram of cheese costs $28 in Rarotonga and a pound of butter $13.20.

Asked why voters outside New Zealand should have a say, Tuaine says the issue is often seen through a “colonised lens" and that Pacific genealogies are interwoven.

"We have people from New Zealand that also have chosen to live in our country and have become permanent residents. And guess what? They vote in our election. It's called democracy."

Her message to Pacific voters unsure about voting: "Voting is a privilege, but it's also a gift. So get off the couch, get down to your polling station and tick,tick, done"

Stella Teariki is on holiday in Western Australia, says voting was a real priority and she went online with her sister as soon as voting opened.

Listen to Stella Teariki's full interview below.

"I have in the back of my head that these are special votes that get counted at the end, and these are the votes that could make a difference to the outcome."

Overseas votes are counted as special votes and added in the official count after election night.

Electoral Commission data shows that in 2023 77,295 overseas votes were cast, among about 567,000 special votes.

Teariki says the vote nz website was the biggest challenge, and the only language option she could find was English.

"While my sister and I are in our 50s and 60s, our computer literacy was enough to get us through. But for an older age bracket, it definitely would pay to tap into family.

"If it means that my one vote is the difference to the change of this government, I've done my job."

Election day is Saturday 7 November, with voting places open 9am to 7pm. Advance voting opened on 26 October.