Running the 2026 election expected to cost about $180m
Running the 2026 General Election is expected to cost about $180 million, according to the Electoral Commission. The figure covers the commission's cost of delivering the vote, not spending by parties or candidates.
The breakdown was reported by RNZ. Staff costs account for $94.7 million of the total. The commission plans to employ 22,000 temporary staff for the election.
Property costs are budgeted at $23.1 million, with 2321 voting places planned for election day. Printing and post is budgeted at $25.5 million, including nine million voting papers. The commission said its biggest election costs were the temporary workforce, then property, paper, printing and postage.
It has also budgeted $17.9 million for communications and $11.6 million for information technology. A further $3.1 million is budgeted for travel and catering, and just under $6 million for other costs.
Separate rules apply to campaign spending by those taking part. A candidate's spending limit for the general election is $36,000 including GST, according to the Electoral Commission. A registered party contesting the party vote has a limit of $1,503,000 plus $36,000 for each electorate contested, according to the Electoral Commission.
A total of $4,145,750 including GST will be allocated to parties for election advertising on radio, television and online. The formal writ for the election was issued on 4 October 2026, which the commission lists as writ day.
On 17 September 2026, the commission was using data matching to contact people who were not enrolled or who needed to update their address on the electoral roll. Enrolment work sits alongside the main election-day operation in the lead-up to the vote.
