Todd Muller painting BOP a sea of blue from Sun Live on Vimeo.

The general elections are creeping up fast, as today marks another milestone with the first election signs to go up across the country.

Campaign Chairman Steven Joyce says despite the weather conditions, National's candidates and dedicated volunteers have been out since midnight getting their signs up.

"For our first batch we've produced over 15,000 election signs, which is a new record for National. It takes a lot of work to get them out there, but we have the most experienced campaign volunteers in the country and our candidates can't get the job done without a strong team around them.

'Our electorate teams look forward to this weekend in every election year, as its one of the key opportunities to show their determination to elect a National-led government.”

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller is one of the many candidates keen to do his bit as well.

He has 140 hoardings being put up across Te Puea to Papamoa by 10 teams with a total of 35 volunteers.

'There's lots of blue, I call it the sea of blue, and when you add Simon's (Bridges) stuff as well, basically the whole place is a sea of blue, which is great.”

He says taking part in putting up the hoardings is a great way to get involved with the community by talking to the locals and volunteers.

"They use it for a real day of action, not just getting the signs up but knocking on doors, delivering fliers, and having a bit of fun too,” says Steven.

'This election, New Zealanders have a real choice between a stable, future-focused and positive government under the strong leadership of Bill English; or a negative, inward-looking three-headed opposition which is continually arguing with itself.

'We are running a typically positive campaign, asking Kiwis to give us their party vote in September because it is the only way to ensure another strong National Government."

The candidates standing for Bay of Plenty in the General Elections are Bruce Carley (ACT), Todd Muller (National) and Angela Warren-Clark (Labour).

The general election day will be held on Saturday, September 23, and voting begins on Monday, September 11.