The Electoral Commission says it is making good progress on the official vote count to determine the final results of the 2026 General Election.
The preliminary results released on election night gave an indication of the election outcome based on the first count of the 2,432,403 ordinary votes cast in advance and on election day. The preliminary results do not include approximately 400,000 special votes.
“We understand how important it is to deliver timely results, and we also need to make sure they are accurate,” says Chief Electoral Officer, Karl Le Quesne.
“There are a lot of tasks that need to be completed before we can declare the official results and counting votes is just part of the process. We have staff working around the country in electorates and National Office to complete these tasks as soon as possible.”
Tasks in progress include:
- scanning rolls from voting places to check if anyone has voted more than once and investigating those cases;
- sending special votes cast in New Zealand back their home electorate to be checked and counted;
- receiving special votes from overseas – by law, 10 days is allowed for votes to be returned;
- checking special vote declarations and whether the voter is enrolled;
- counting the ordinary votes cast before and on election day a second time.
“After all these tasks have been done, we will be ready to count special votes that are allowed, tally the votes and carry out quality assurance checks before we release the results,” said Mr Le Quesne.
Meanwhile, the Commission confirmed it referred five matters to the Police between 7 and 10 November relating to activity on election day.
Two individuals have been referred to the Police after they claimed to have voted multiple times on election day. It is an offence under section 215 of the Electoral Act 1993 to vote more than once.
The Commission has also referred three matters to the Police for possible breaches of the election day rules. Publishing or displaying material on election day that could potentially influence another voter is strictly prohibited and carries a penalty of a fine not exceeding $20,000 under section 197 of the Electoral Act 1993.
People can keep updated on the progress of the official count on vote.nz.
The date for the release the Official Results of the 2026 General Election is Friday 27 November.
