General election, 14 October 2023

Severe winds 

The 2023 General Election was held on 14 October. However, several regions across the South Island were struck by extreme winds on election day, disrupting the operation of some voting places (ECNZ 2024). The region of Canterbury was particularly affected, with winds reaching 200 km/h. Emergency crews were dispatched to respond to detaching roofs and fallen trees and power lines (New Zealand Herald 2023). Almost 4,500 homes in North Canterbury were left without power and water restrictions were issued in Hurunui District (RNZ 2023b). Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) recommended that people avoid unnecessary travel, tie down any loose items and ensure any fires had been put out properly (RNZ 2023a). 

Impact on the electoral process 

In the days leading up to election day, the Meteorological Service encouraged people to take advantage of advance voting (Franks 2023). Advance voting in New Zealand is available for all citizens and can be done at any voting location, regardless of prior enrolment for early voting (ECNZ n.d.). 

In response to the extreme weather, the Electoral Commission followed its preparations for such circumstances, which included changing the location of polling stations and offering voting by telephone dictation to affected voters (ECNZ 2023). The Commission was particularly aware of the potential impact of weather on the delivery of a general election due to the devastation caused by flooding in Auckland and Cyclone Gabrielle earlier in 2023 (ECNZ 2024). 

The severe winds led to the early closure of three polling stations and the relocation of 13 election night count locations across three constituencies: Selwyn, Waimakariri and Kaikōura. The Chief Electoral Officer approved three voters registering to vote via the telephone dictation service, although none ultimately voted via this method. In affected areas, the Electoral Commission collaborated with other public service agencies such as the Ministry of Social Development (ECNZ 2024). 

Rain damaged a small number of EasyVote packs (containing an EasyVote card used to speed up confirming voters’ identity on the electoral roll, and basic voter information). A letter and information pack were produced for the affected voters to be used instead of the EasyVote card (ECNZ 2024). 

On election day, the computer application allowing election workers to look up voters on an electronic version of the electoral roll experienced multiple outages, leading them to revert to the paper versions. Interviewed by the Auditor-General's Office, polling staff explained that the outages caused uncertainty at voting places and led to a higher-than-expected number of people being directed to cast special votes. It is unclear whether IT failures were related to the power outages caused by the winds (Controller and A-G 2024). 

Voter turnout was 78.2 per cent, slightly lower than the 82.24 per cent turnout in 2020 (International IDEA n.d.).