New Zealand Right Fights Over Split Votes

Key Facts

• Row: Coalition partners ACT and NZ First approved newspaper ads urging National candidate votes but ACT or NZ First party votes.
• Election Day: Saturday, 7 November 2026; voting places open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. New Zealand time.
• Results: Preliminary results start at 7 p.m. New Zealand time (1 a.m. Eastern Time, ET) on 7 November; official results are due 27 November.
• Polls: Labour leads National 30.6% to 24.8% in one poll; National leads Labour 29% to 27% in another.

Right Divides Over Split Ballots

Newspaper advertisements written in the name of Don Brash, a former leader of both National and ACT, urge voters to give their candidate vote to National and their party vote to ACT or NZ First. Reality Check Radio, a New Zealand podcast and campaign group, placed them, and ACT, a free-market party, and NZ First, a populist party, confirmed that they approved them.

New Zealanders cast two votes: one for a local candidate and one for a party. The ads argue that National will win more local seats than its party vote entitles it to, creating an "overhang" that enlarges Parliament. "Once that happens, party votes for National will not produce any more National MPs," the ad says.

With five days to go in the New Zealand general election campaign, National leader Christopher Luxon, whose party leads the coalition government, addressed the matter. He called his partners' involvement "disappointing" and warned that the confusion could help Labour form a government.

Coalition Partners and Labour Respond

ACT leader David Seymour said a party vote for ACT "will not let Labour come through the middle." Labour leader Chris Hipkins called it "total dysfunction and disarray on the right."

Campaign commentators call the final week the most febrile in years. Voices for Freedom, a group that campaigned against pandemic mandates, was also reported to be behind the advertising.

Analysts say that if many voters back National only with their candidate vote, an overhang is almost certain. They add that a vote-split could lift ACT and NZ First while costing National party-vote support.

Polls Still Point in Different Directions

The RNZ-Reid Research poll, published on 29 October with fieldwork from 20 to 26 October, put Labour on 30.6% and National on 24.8%. It projected 64 seats for Labour, the Greens and the Opportunity Party, against 54 for National, ACT and NZ First in a 120-seat Parliament.

The 1News-Verian poll, published on 27 October with fieldwork from 21 to 25 October, put National on 29% and Labour on 27%. Opportunity, a newer party led by Qiulae Wong, must clear a 5% party-vote threshold to win seats outright.

It polled 7.2% in the Reid survey and 6% in the Verian survey. Wong has promised to negotiate first with the party that wins the most seats, and Luxon has repeatedly ruled out working with the party.

Final Days and Fixed Dates

Advance voting runs until Friday, 6 November, and overseas voting closes no later than 4 p.m. local time that day. The Electoral Commission, the official election administrator, said 309,876 advance votes were cast in the first three days, against 235,415 in the same period in 2023.

Voting places open on Saturday, 7 November, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. New Zealand time. Preliminary results are released progressively from 7 p.m. on electionresults.govt.nz, and official results are declared on 27 November.

What It Means for US Readers

Preliminary results begin at 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, 7 November, on electionresults.govt.nz, the official results site. That is 7 p.m. in New Zealand, which is 18 hours ahead of US Eastern time on that date.

Voting places open at 9 a.m. New Zealand time, which is 3 p.m. ET on Friday, 6 November. Election night will run through the early hours of Saturday in the US.

What Is Not Known

The size of any final-week shift is unknown, and the two newest polls disagree on whether the right-hand bloc can reach a majority. Whether Opportunity clears the 5% threshold and whether an overhang forms are also unknown.

We found no prediction-market odds we could verify, and no confirmed Ipsos poll. The election date is 7 November.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does New Zealand vote?

New Zealand votes on Saturday, 7 November 2026, with voting places open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Advance voting runs until 6 November.

What is the vote-splitting row?

Ads written in the name of Don Brash urge voters to give their candidate vote to National and their party vote to ACT or NZ First. ACT and NZ First approved the ads, while Luxon called their involvement disappointing.

When can US readers expect results?

Preliminary results start from 7 p.m. New Zealand time on 7 November, which is 1 a.m. ET the same date. Official results are declared on 27 November.

This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief