Voting numbers for the first weekend of early votes will be made public this afternoon, and are expected to be high - with several party leaders among them.
Advance voting has been increasingly popular in recent elections, accounting for 47 per cent of votes at thelast election, and that is expected to rise to about 60 per cent this year, partly driven by the threat of another lockdown.
Polls opened on Saturday and will be available for two weeks of voting until election day on October 17.
Most big policies from the two major parties, in particular, have been announced, so the remaining two weeks will be a race to the finish line.
The Electoral Commission will confirm just how many people turned out for the first weekend of advance voting at 2pm, but two of the first voters through the door were Labour leader Jacinda Ardern and Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
National's Judith Collins and Act's David Seymour cast their vote on Sunday, with New Zealand First's Winston Peters deciding not to vote until election day.
Ardern said she voted two ticks for Labour, but did not reveal her vote on the cannabis referendum.
Jacinda Ardern casts her vote at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall voting centre in Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs
"I've advance voted in the past, and the reason for me personally is just to signal to New Zealanders that the polls are open," she said.
"What we really want to encourage this year is for people to vote early, it will reduce any potential congestion, it means that just in case if you're leaving it to the last minute you won't miss out on your opportunity to vote.
"It's just a matter of ensuring that people have a very simple experience at the voting booth."
Collins and her husband David Wong-Tung cast their advance votes at a polling station at St Thomas Church in Tāmaki on Sunday, ahead of the October 17 election.
Along with a "very easy" two ticks National, she also voted in favour of the End of Life Choice Bill and against the legislation of cannabis.
Collins, whose references to her religion have notably increased in recent weeks, readily took the priest's suggestion of a quick prayer beforehand.
With her party languishing behind Labour in recent polls she may be forgiven for beseeching an election miracle, but she kept the subject of her confab with the almighty close to the chest.
Perhaps she spies a risk - with the New Conservatives starting to feature in opinion polls - or an opportunity with 37 per cent of New Zealanders identifying as Christian at the 2018 census.
She denies drawing attention to her faith for political reasons however, saying it is "inherently part of who I am".
Judith Collins and husband David Wong-Tung arrive at St Thomas Tamaki to cast their votes.Photo / Michael Neilson
It was a surprise to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who said he did not know until recently that she was religious.
"But I'm glad she is. She's had a Damascus experience, clearly, but I'm pleased to see that because it might be in the future - as it wasn't in the past - reflected in her policies."
He said she should not be using the church to portray her politics, however.
"If someone is using the church to sell their politics then that is rather sad."
Matthew 6: 5-6. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.”
For his part, Peters will be keeping his vote old school - saving it until election day. The reason: policy surprises and secret agendas.
"There are some real clangers being dropped every day by political parties and so if you've already voted you can't change your mind," he says.
"You need to know all the facts ... we're 13 days away from an election and yet people are being encouraged by other leaders to go and vote now. Why? Because they don't want them to find out what the secret agenda might be in the next few days."
Act leader David Seymour also voted yesterday, with the End of Life Choice referendum an emotional moment for him.
"This one's been a long, long way in the making for end of life choice, but I hope everyone's going to vote for compassion and choice.
"It's been a five-year journey to give New Zealanders compassion and choice. It's so real on that ballot box - I just hope that it goes through with a majority of New Zealanders too.
"It's a great day for the weather, a great day for democracy and we're looking forward to getting out and voting early."
Greens co-leader James Shaw also took the plunge - at the ballot box early on Saturday, then diving in a Wellington marine reserve to highlight a two-week-old sanctuary policy.
He said people were getting increasingly used to the idea of voting in advance.
"My strong sense - as I travel around the country - is people have pretty much made up their minds," Shaw said.
He will be hoping his party's popularity will not also be taking a dive, and can stay afloat above the 5 per cent threshold.
Provisional election results will be released on election night, but it will be another fortnight for the provisional results for the two referenda, and then another week for final results for everything on Friday, November 6.
