Elections and voting
Find out about elections and accessible voting options.
Why voting is important
Voting in general and local elections can be especially important for disabled people because decisions made by Parliament and councils directly affect things like accessibility, healthcare, transport, and disability support services.
Parliament makes decisions about things like disability support funding, health services, benefits, employment rights, education, and accessibility laws. City, district, and regional councils make decisions about things like public transport, community facilities, parking, footpaths, and social housing.
Voting allows you to have some influence on who gets to make these decisions. It’s your chance to use your lived experience and say, “This is who I’d prefer to make decisions that affect my life.” Even if none of the candidates share all your values and priorities, decisions still need to be made.
Access 2026
The Electoral Commission has developed an accessibility plan for the 2026 General Election called Action 2026. It includes 20 actions, which are accessible services available to support people to work at the election, get election information, enrol, vote, and stand as a parliamentary candidate.
In this section
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General and local elections
Learn what general and local elections are all about.
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Enrolling to vote
Find out how to enrol to vote.
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Accessible voting
Learn about accessible voting options for general and local elections.
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Election Access Fund
The Election Access Fund supports disabled people to stand as candidates in parliamentary general elections and by-elections.
Election information in accessible formats
The Electoral Commission has information about enrolling and voting presented in accessible formats, including Easy Read, audio, braille and large print.
View election information in accessible formats
Deaf Aotearoa has a dedicated webpage with information about the 2026 election for Deaf people. This includes key election dates, New Zealand Sign Language resources, accessible events, interpreted leaders’ debates, and information from the Electoral Commission.