Enrolment pop-ups and a community fund are just two ways the Electoral Commission will be supporting people to get enrolled in time for this year’s election on November 7.

The commission’s chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne said a recent law change means voters need to be enrolled before advance voting starts in New Zealand.

“Make sure you’re enrolled at the address where you live by October 4 to get an EasyVote card, which will make voting faster.”

The commission is undertaking a nationwide public information programme to get people enrolled, he said.

“There will be advertising, mailouts and community engagement to raise awareness about when you need to enrol and how to do it.

“Starting in April, our engagement teams will be on the road providing mobile enrolment ‘pop-ups’ to reach eligible voters with a focus on regional and rural locations.

“Then in September we’ll set up enrolment hubs as part of a final push to enrol people before October 4. There will be up to 10 hubs in the main centres, in areas of high population.”

The commission is also launching a Community Education Fund with up to $690,000 available to provide small grants to community-led groups focused on increasing enrolment uptake in their communities, especially in areas where the commission doesn’t have a presence.

“We want to continue to work with communities to create as many enrolment opportunities as possible and this fund will help us to expand our coverage,” Le Quesne said.

“It makes sense for us to support community groups to help with this mahi [work] as they know their communities best.”

Le Quesne said another initiative this year is greater use of digital communications to contact voters.

“You’ll be seeing more emails and texts from the commission reminding you to enrol or update your details. If we have your email address and phone number, it will help us keep in touch with you,” he said.

People can enrol, check or update details online at vote.nz or by calling freephone 0800 36 76 56 and asking for an enrolment form to be sent to them.