Electoral Act 1993

Registration of electors - Change of address

89CB: Electoral Commission may remove person’s name from dormant roll and register person as elector

You could also call this:

"The Electoral Commission can move you to the main electoral roll if they think you should vote in your area."

You can be removed from the dormant roll and added to the electoral roll if the Electoral Commission thinks you should be an elector in your district. The Electoral Commission might send you a letter telling you they think you should be on the electoral roll for the district where you live. They will tell you which district they think you should be in, based on whether your old district was a Māori or General electoral district, as described in section 263B.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1563528.

This page was last updated on 14 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

89CA: Electoral Commission updating elector’s address on electoral roll without receipt of notice from elector, or

"The Electoral Commission can update your address on the electoral roll without you asking them."

89D: Inquiry to be made to update electoral rolls, or

"Checking and updating the electoral roll to ensure your details are correct"

Part 5Registration of electors
Change of address

89CBElectoral Commission may remove person’s name from dormant roll and register person as elector

This section applies if, on the basis of information disclosed to it pursuant to section 263B, the Electoral Commission is satisfied that a person whose name is on the dormant roll for any district should be registered as an elector of that district or any other district.
The Electoral Commission may notify the person in writing of the following matters:
that the person’s name is on the dormant roll for an electoral district (district A):
the address that the Electoral Commission is satisfied is the person’s current place of residence (the person’s address):
that the Electoral Commission proposes to register the person’s name and particulars on the electoral roll for the district in which the person’s address is located (district B), which is—
1. a Māori electoral district if district A was a Māori electoral district; or
2. a General electoral district if district A was a General electoral district:
that the proposed action in paragraph (c) will be taken after the expiry of 28 days from the date on which the notification is sent (the notice period) unless before the end of the notice period the person provides in writing such evidence as may be necessary to satisfy the Electoral Commission that the proposed action should not be taken.

If the Electoral Commission takes the proposed action described in subsection (2)(d), the Electoral Commission must, no later than 14 days after entering the person’s name and particulars on the electoral roll for district B, notify the person in writing that the person is registered as an elector of district B.
To avoid doubt, district B may be the same district as district A or a different district.

Notes

Section 89CB: inserted, on 20 December 2025, by section 27 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).