The final day of voting begins in New Zealand's election as an unusual law bans any talk of politics

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Polling places opened in New Zealand on Saturday for a final day of voting in the country’s election, with results due to be released in the evening.

Voting began on Oct. 26, with more than 1.6 million voters out of nearly 3.8 million people enrolled having already cast their ballots by the end of Thursday, according to the country's Electoral Commission. Polling stations opened Saturday at 9 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.

The country’s election day unfolds in a manner almost entirely free from politics, due to an unusual law making it a criminal offense to influence someone’s vote. The 19-hour election day blackout, which ends when polling places close, bars everyone, including political parties, news outlets and social media users, from commentary about likely election outcomes, campaign issues and anything else that might encourage or discourage them from voting in a particular way.

Opinion polls can’t be released on election day and exit polling or interviewing people outside voting places is banned. Partisan billboards and advertising must be removed by midnight and it’s common to see political parties’ supporters rushing to dismantle roadside hoardings at the last minute.

Bumper stickers, T-shirts and even social media profile pictures are covered by the law. Breaches can incur a fine of 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($11,000).

While news outlets can name parties or candidates, they must ensure it’s not done in a way that might influence someone’s vote. They’re not required to remove political content published before election day.

Political leaders are pictured shopping or running errands with their families on election day, planning outings as private citizens to ensure public visibility while making no remarks about current events. One major party leader in 2017 allowed reporters waiting outside her home to photograph her dressed in sweatpants and painting a fence.

Some analysts have suggested the measures are redundant because New Zealanders can vote for almost two weeks before election day, when campaigning, advertising, and round-the-clock news coverage remain in full swing. More than half of voters in the South Pacific country of 5 million people cast early ballots before election day in 2023.

However, there has been little appetite to change the law and its supporters say the blackout allows voters to cast ballots privately and free from interference. Instead of posting political commentary on social media, a New Zealand tradition has sprung up of sharing election day photos of dogs at voting places.

Even color is approached cautiously. Signs outside polling venues, uniform jackets worn by electoral officers and the “orange guy” mascot who appears in election advertising, are all colored bright orange, a shade not associated with any mainstream political party.

New Zealand has only one house of parliament and there are no states, making the central government a powerful decider of the country’s direction. Elections are held every three years.

Voters don’t elect a leader of the country but instead select their preferred political party and the local candidate they’d most like to represent their area. A party or coalition of parties must hold more than half of the seats in Parliament, a majority, in order to govern.

Unlike in neighboring Australia, voting isn’t compulsory in New Zealand but enrollment is required for those who are eligible. Historically, New Zealanders could enroll anytime up to casting their ballots, but new laws enacted in December 2025 introduced an enrollment cutoff 13 days before election day.

The policy means those who hadn’t enrolled by Oct. 25 this year could be turned away from voting places.

New Zealand’s Electoral Commission aims to release the results from 95% of votes cast by the end of election night Saturday. A final result, which will reflect ballots cast by New Zealanders abroad, is expected by Nov. 27.

Election workers prepare ballot papers for voters at a voting place on election day in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

People queue to enter a voting place on election day in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

People walk past a sign outside a voting place on election day in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

A person casts their ballot at a voting place on election day in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

A dog sits outside a voting place on election day in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

A person places their voting papers in a ballot box at a voting place in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

A man enters a voting place in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

A Māori warden reacts as a man leaves a voting place at a marae in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

An election worker hands voting papers to a person at a voting booth in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

People leave a voting place in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

The father of the 20-year-old co-pilot killed alongside eight others in a Florida Learjet crash said Friday he has repeatedly listened to her final radio transmissions, searching for answers and finding pride in how she handled the crisis.

Allan Filgueiras, a pilot who helped teach Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras to fly, said he marveled at how “she's tough” even as the plane plunged straight toward the ground Sunday.

“I wanted to be by her side. Inside the plane, to help,” he said at a news conference, often holding back tears.

“She showed me what it is to be a hero,” he said, “because once you see that coming, a lot of the big boys — military or whatever — they can’t handle. And she was the one over there to the last minute fighting.”

Nathalia Filgueiras can first be heard calmly telling air traffic control about ice buildup on the plane as it flew into a thunderstorm. Turbulence tossed it up and down by 700 feet (200 meters), but the situation quickly escalated as the aircraft fell at breathtaking speed. “Declare an emergency 722-Bravo-Delta. We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute!” she said.

Her father and aviation safety experts have praised her composure as she called out updates while knowing the plane's fate was sealed. The captain, 55-year-old Jeff Gregory, is believed to have been at the controls.

“For the family — it’s like having the heart torn from my chest,” Allan Filgueiras said in Spanish. “I have to find a way to go on living.”

The family has challenged online criticism questioning whether she had enough experience to be in the cockpit of a high-performance business jet. She had more than 1,300 hours of experience and completed extensive training to earn her commercial pilot’s license and Learjet certification.

Her father's attorney, Stuart Grossman, said the news conference aimed to “preserve not just her memory, but her reputation.”

“She was at the top of her class in everything that she did, and she was perfectly qualified to be the co-pilot on this flight, despite her tender years,” Grossman said, noting there were no immediate plans for any lawsuit.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined what caused the crash. The Learjet accelerated beyond its design limits as it fell, and pieces of its tail were found miles away from the crash site, which is a deep crater on the edge of a road. Investigators were still searching the area Friday after finding part of an engine a day earlier. The cockpit recorder remains missing.

Allan Filgueiras said he helped teach her how to fly after taking her aloft for the first time at age 12. Once she got a job as a pilot, she told him she couldn’t believe she was getting paid to do something she loved.

“It was her happiest moment, to fly,” he said.

Her mentor and instructor, Chris Kirk, said she earned her position through dedication and perseverance by putting in hard work and long hours.

During her Learjet 60 check ride in March, the examiner was so impressed he thought she had more than 5,000 hours of experience — nearly four times the amount of flight time she had logged.

Kirk said her professionalism was evident in those final radio transmissions, which gave the NTSB important information. Many members of the military special forces who Kirk worked with probably couldn't keep their wits in a similar situation.

“This was an incredible human being,” Kirk said, “who did a job that very few people would have been able to do under a duress that’s unimaginable.”

Retired airline pilot John Cox said earlier this week that his career began similarly to Nathalia Filgueiras', as he started flying professionally at age 19. He said she had done well to earn a Learjet co-pilot's seat.

“To be in the right seat of a Lear 60, she had to impress somebody, because that’s a good ride. I mean, that’s great. I know she loved it,” said Cox, who now runs Safety Operating Systems, an aviation consulting company.

The other crash victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; and their two young children, relatives said. The family’s nanny, Ana María Ramírez Cetina, was also killed. The other two victims were Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, who owned the Arca Boutique Hotel in Honduras.

Investigators work at the scene of a plane crash in Greenacres, Fla., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

This photo made from video provided by WSVN shows Allan Filgueiras, whose daughter Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was the co-pilot of a Learjet that crashed, with attorney Stuart Grossman at a news conference in Coral Gables, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (WSVN via AP)

A drone image shows aftermath of deadly Florida plane crash that killed nine in Greenacres, Fla., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

This image taken from Aki Kuusisto's video shows a small jet crashing in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Aki Kuusisto via AP)

This photo made from video provided by WSVN shows Allan Filgueiras, whose daughter Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras was the co-pilot of a Learjet that crashed, attends a news conference in Coral Gables, Fla, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (WSVN via AP)