For the first time, Wakatipu basin residents will vote this year as members of New Zealand's biggest geographical electorate, and the Clutha-Southland returning officer is getting ready for a big day.
Six of the 73 polling booths to operate in the Clutha-Southland electorate on election day, November 8, would be in the Wakatipu basin and about 50 people had been employed to help out, Clutha-Southland returning officer Sandra Robb said.
This year there would be advanced voting in St Margaret's Church at Frankton for the first time, as well as the usual booth at the Queenstown-Lakes District Council offices.
"We decided to have an advanced voting booth at Frankton from October 28 because it is so close to the shopping centre and the airport and so many people live out there now."
People who could not make it to a polling booth on the day of the general election could cast their votes in advance at the booths.
The advanced voting booth at the council would be open during working hours from October 22, while the Frankton booth would be open for longer hours and some evenings the following week.
If voters were housebound or going overseas before election day, they should get in touch with the Clutha-Southland electorate headquarters in Invercargill.
She was pleased with the response to an earlier plea for more people to work at polling booths on election day, particularly in Queenstown, were a number of young people had offered their services, Mrs Robb said.
Training for people working at the advanced voting booths in Queenstown is scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Polling booths on election day will be in place at the Queenstown Primary School, Queenstown Memorial Hall, St Margaret's Church in Frankton, Queenstown Events Centre, Arrowtown School and Glenorchy School.
