Labour’s Tāmaki Makaurau candidate Kerrin Leoni is
urging voters of Māori descent to check their enrolment and
confirm which electoral roll they are on before the Māori
Electoral Option closes at midnight on Thursday 6
August.
Voters who miss the deadline will remain on
their current roll until after the 7 November general
election. Those not yet enrolled can still enrol and choose
a roll up to 25 October, but enrolled voters have only until
6 August to switch.
Leoni (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Takoto,
Ngāti Kurī) made the call at the opening of Labour’s
Waitakere and Glendene campaign office in West Auckland on
Saturday, alongside Labour deputy leader and Glendene
candidate Carmel Sepuloni and Waitakere candidate Vanushi
Walters.
“Eleven days. That is all the time our
whānau have to make this decision,” Leoni said. “After
6 August the choice is locked in until after the election. I
would rather have this kōrero with our people now than
explain it to them in November.”
Leoni
said the roll decision was not about party loyalty but about
how whānau want to be represented in
Parliament.
“Every law passed in Parliament
reaches into our homes, what we pay in rent, how long we
wait to see a doctor, what our tamariki are taught, whether
there is work at the end of the week. If we want better
outcomes, Māori have to be part of the decisions that
produce them.”
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Electoral Commission figures show
Māori participation continues to lag the national rate. At
the 2023 general election, turnout among enrolled voters of
Māori descent was 70.3 percent, compared with a national
turnout of 78.2 percent. Turnout on the Māori roll was 68
percent.
The Commission reported this month that a
majority of enrolled voters of Māori descent are now on the
Māori roll for the first time 302,096, against 255,627 on
the general roll, a shift driven largely by younger voters.
Movement during this year’s option period has run in both
directions: 4,731 voters have switched from the general roll
to the Māori roll and 5,113 have moved the other way, while
more than 15,000 have updated their details without changing
rolls.
Leoni said the figures showed engagement was
rising, but that the turnout gap remained the largest
untapped source of Māori political influence in the
country.
“Our tūpuna fought hard so that future
generations would have a voice. We honour that by enrolling,
by voting, and by making sure the people around us do the
same.”
She said there was no wrong answer on
which roll a voter chooses.
“That choice is yours
and it has mana. What matters is that you make it
deliberately, rather than let a deadline make it for
you.”
Leoni urged supporters to spend the next
fortnight talking to whānau, neighbours and workmates about
enrolment, and to help older and first-time voters check
their details online at vote.nz.
“Every
conversation matters. Every new enrolment matters. Every
vote helps decide who sits in Parliament and what laws they
pass.”
She also acknowledged Sepuloni’s work
in West Auckland, describing her as a hardworking
representative with a long record of service to Pacific and
Māori families in the west.
“When Māori
participate, Māori voices are stronger. And when our voices
are stronger in Parliament, we have a greater opportunity to
shape the future of Aotearoa together.”
Leoni is
contesting Tāmaki Makaurau, held by Te Pāti Māori’s
Oriini Kaipara following the September 2025 by-election. She
has said her campaign priorities are employment, health and
housing, with a particular focus on homeless
rangatahi.
KEY ELECTORAL
DATES
| Date | Milestone |
| 6 August 2026 |
Deadline for enrolled voters of Māori descent to change rolls (midnight) |
| 4 October 2026 |
Enrol by this date to receive an EasyVote card |
| 25 October 2026 |
Enrolment closes |
| 26 October 2026 |
Advance voting opens |
| 7 November 2026 |
Election day |
Notes:
Kerrin
Leoni (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Takoto, Ngāti Kurī) is
Labour’s candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau at the 2026
general election. She was the first wahine Māori elected to
Auckland Council, serving the Whau ward from 2022 to 2025,
and previously served on the Waitematā Local Board. She
contested the Auckland mayoralty in 2025 and stood for
Labour in the Waikato electorate in
2020.
Source data: all enrolment and
turnout figures are published by the Electoral Commission
(elections.nz and vote.nz). 2023 turnout figures are from
the Commission’s official post-election statistics;
enrolment figures are from Commission releases dated July
2026 and are updated monthly.
Enrolment
enquiries: vote.nz, or 0800 36 76 56. Voters can
also text their name and address to 3676 to request an
enrolment
form.
