Opposition raises voter suppression concerns as enrolment deadline nears

Opposition parties say the government is suppressing votes as the enrolment deadline approaches ahead of the general election on Saturday 7 November.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was "very concerned" about enrolments, particularly among young people and people being moved onto the dormant roll. Electoral Commission figures show that as of 15 October, only 65.5 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds were enrolled to vote, according to RNZ.

Hipkins blamed the change in the law that ended same-day enrolment. The coalition government changed electoral law to end voter enrolment during the two-week advance voting period, which begins on 26 October, according to 1News. Hipkins said his key concern about the dormant roll, which holds voters whose details are out of date, was that a person's party vote would count but their electorate vote may not depending on circumstances.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said she was "incredibly concerned" about what she described as the government's moves to actively suppress voting. She said the government scrapped same-day enrolment knowing it would not reduce vote-counting time, which had been part of the justification for the change.

The leaders also questioned the timing of the election. RNZ revealed that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon picked a "challenging" election date despite the Electoral Commission favouring two other options. Electoral Commission advice put forward 17 October as one of the two alternatives, according to 1News.

Swarbrick said the prime minister knowingly chose to run voting through Labour Day, which officials had advised would be challenging. Labour accused Luxon of "knowingly limiting turnout" by putting up another barrier to voting.

Luxon announced in January that the 2026 General Election will be held on 7 November, with writ day on 4 October, according to the Beehive. Under New Zealand's system, the prime minister sets the election date.