Voters of Māori descent who want to change electoral rolls before the election have just one more week to make their choice.

Māori can choose between the Māori roll and general roll when they first enrol to vote. After that, voters can change rolls at any time except in the three months before an election.

Electoral Commission chief advisor Māori Hone Matthews said the deadline ahead of this year's general election on 7 November is midnight, 6 August.

"We sent a letter to voters of Māori descent in April and have followed up with email and text reminders. Thousands have taken the opportunity to change rolls, enrol, or update their address on the electoral roll.

"If you are happy with the roll you're on, kei te pai. If you would like to change rolls before the election, you need to do it now."

Voters can check details or change rolls online at vote.nz using a New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe verified identity.

Earlier this month, chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne told RNZ while movement between the rolls has been relatively balanced this year, the longer-term trend pointed to younger Māori increasingly choosing to vote in Māori electorates.

"What we've seen since 2023 is that people enrolling for the first time are more likely to go onto the Māori roll, and that's been a really consistent pattern."

According to the Electoral Commission's latest figures, between 31 March and 26 July for voters of Māori descent:

• 6039 people changed from the general roll to the Māori roll;
• 6212 people changed from the Māori roll to the general roll;
• there were 4418 new enrolments on the Māori roll;
• there were 2663 new enrolments on the general roll;
• 20,747 people took the opportunity to update their details, for example their address, but didn't change rolls.