Changes to the Electoral Act, including enabling voters to enrol on election day, have been introduced to Parliament today says Justice Minister Andrew Little.
“Voting is an important civic right and the Electoral Amendment Bill will benefit New Zealanders by making it easier for people to enrol and vote” says Andrew Little.
“As well as election day enrolment, changes in the bill will make it easier for the Electoral Commission to use places such as supermarkets and malls as voting places. In the case of an emergency, the Electoral Commission will also be able to adjourn polling and use alternative voting processes if there is disruption on election day.
“This is an important Bill that will make it easier for more people to vote and I encourage members of the public to have their say on the Bill once it reaches the Select Committee stage.”
The Bill also makes changes to special votes that will improve vote issuing and counting processes at the 2023 general election.
“These changes cannot be implemented for the 2020 election but changing the law now will give the Electoral Commission sufficient time and certainty to make the necessary operational changes for 2023”, says Andrew Little.
The Bill will be followed by changes to the Electoral Regulations to improve the efficiency and timeliness of overseas, postal and dictation vote issuing and processing.
