This was interesting with results showing strong support for the Labour Party, and for the first time in 18 years, the party cleaned out every Bay of Plenty electorate.
Welcome Bay resident Murray Richards said voting early was a "no-brainer".
"With the whole world in an upside-down, topsy turvy wave, we just wanted to get in before the crowds."
Richards and his wife are both in their 60s and voted differently on the general election as well as the referendums at the Cameron Rd booth.
Tina Henry from the Waiariki electorate voted a week ahead of time because she knew she would be out of town for work, and went with her partner and brother.
"I didn't worry about all the campaigning that was happening. I knew after watching [Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern] take charge of our country that she gained not only my respect but also my vote."
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Bay of Plenty electorate voter Vic Villegas thought he knew who he would vote for, but changed his mind after watching the leaders' debate.
"I voted three days before election day. Mainly to get it done and dusted."
Massey University political commentator Professor Richard Shaw said the high level of early voting was because people had made their minds up.
"Their preferences were locked in and the campaign had very little impact."
Massey University's political commentator Professor Richard Shaw. Photo / File
He said National MPs holding on to electorate seats in the Bay of Plenty was a mixture of people liking what they saw MPs doing in the community and loyalty.
"They already decided to give the Prime Minister the party vote ... most people's preferences were determined before the campaign period began, and certainly before advance voting."
Shaw said in his view this showed there needed to be a law change around campaigning on voting day, "when the majority of New Zealanders have cast their votes up to two weeks ahead".
For the first time in 18 years, the Labour Party cleaned out every Bay of Plenty electorate party vote.
They obtained 110,600 votes in the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, Rotorua, Waiariki, Coromandel, Taupō and East Coast electorates - eclipsing the National Party which gained 40,000 votes fewer.
The results represented a dramatic reversal of fortunes from the previous election when National, with the exception of the Waiariki seat, dominated the party vote in the same electorates.
Shaw said although overall support leant towards Labour, there were still pockets of National strongholds in rural areas.
These were at Marotiri School and Community Hall near Taupō, (rural) Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, Galatea School, (rural) Waikite Valley School, (rural) Te Puna Memorial Hall, (rural) and Central Baptist Church hall.
"There are probably fewer of them, and they're not quite as strong as they were in 2017," Shaw said.
