新西兰选举委员会周一启动宣传活动，敦促国内及海外选民在规定期限内完成投票登记[1]。根据政府去年12月通过的新法律，选民必须在10月25日——即11月7日大选前13天——之前完成登记，逾期者将被禁止投票[1]。这一改革取消了此前允许选举日当天进行投票登记的政策[1]。
政府推行这项改变的理由是加快选票计算效率[1]。总理Christopher Luxon表示，上次选举因选举日登记导致计票耗时三周，新政策预期将选票计算时间从23天缩减至20天[1]。然而，该举措已招致反对党工党领袖Chris Hipkins的强烈批评，他认为这可能会剥夺数万新西兰人的投票权，并承诺若当选将推翻这一政策[1]。
目前登记投票的选民占比为89%，约440,000人尚未完成登记，其中包括200,000名18至25岁的年轻选民[1]。在新西兰未按要求登记投票将面临100新西兰元（59美元）的罚款[1]。海外选民可从10月21日开始提前投票，国内选民的提前投票则自10月26日启动[1]。预计约700,000张特殊票仍待计算[1]。
New Zealand's Electoral Commission launched a campaign on Monday to encourage citizens both domestically and overseas to complete voter registration ahead of the November 7 general election [1]. The urgency stems from a new law passed by the government last December that eliminates same-day voter enrollment, requiring all voters to register by October 25—thirteen days before election day—or face disenfranchisement [1]. According to government projections, this change will reduce ballot counting time from twenty-three days to twenty days [1].
The policy shift has proven controversial. Currently, 89 percent of eligible voters have registered, leaving approximately 440,000 unregistered, with 200,000 of those aged 18 to 25 [1]. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon justified the reform by citing the previous election, where same-day registration extended counting procedures to three weeks [1]. Opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins countered that the policy could strip tens of thousands of New Zealanders of their voting rights and pledged to overturn it if his party wins office [1]. In New Zealand, failure to register carries a fine of 100 New Zealand dollars, approximately 59 U.S. dollars [1]. Early voting for overseas voters opens October 21, while domestic early voting begins October 26 [1].