Source: Radio New Zealand
Parliament’s Justice Committee has recommended the Electoral Amendment Bill be passed by majority, but suggested some amendments. RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Parliament’s Justice Committee has released its report into the Electoral Amendment Bill.
The select committee recommended the bill be passed by majority, but suggested some amendments.
The bill would prevent same-day enrolments, establishing a deadline of 13 days before election day for people to enrol or update their details.
It would also ban prisoners from voting, and tighten up the rules around treating. Postal requirements for voting will also be removed.
The bill had its first reading in July.
The committee proposed “transitional arrangements” for prisoner voting, so that disqualification would only apply to all prisoners detained for a sentence of three years or more, and prisoners sentenced to less than three years whose relevant offence occurred after the bill’s commencement.
This, the committee said, would address situations where someone sentenced to less than three years’ offence may have been committed at a time when the law did not disqualify them.
The bill also allows for the introduction of automatic enrolment updates, so the Electoral Commission can update someone’s address directly following a data match.
The committee proposed amending the bill so the Electoral Commission needs to notify that person their address would be updated.
It also proposed an amendment so Electoral Commission could remove someone’s name from the dormant role and register them as an elector, if it is satisfied they should be registered.
In its differing view on the bill, Labour said the government’s suggestion the bill was necessary to improve the timeliness, efficiency, integrity, and resilience of elections was “a fiction” and the bill would role back one of the most accessible voting systems in the world.
“Much of this legislation has the effect of suppressing voting. We are deeply concerned that many people will be unable to vote at the next election and either be refused access to the ballot box, or have their vote disallowed because they did not appropriately update their enrolment before voting commenced. If this occurs there is a real risk that the legitimacy of the outcome of the election will be undermined.”
The Green Party also considered it “concerning” that the flexibility would be removed.
“Voting habits for life are formed during these formative years so if our election settings are permissive of the busyness and chaos of everyday life, particularly for young people, this will have flow-on, lifelong effects.”
The Greens also opposed the prisoner voting ban in the strongest possible terms.
“When a person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment, they relinquish their freedom of movement. People in custody do not relinquish their human rights, nor their civic rights, or any set of rights besides freedom of movement.”
Te Pāti Māori also opposed the bill, claiming it would “rig” the next election in the government’s favour.
“This bill will disproportionately impact our rangatahi, Māori, Pasifika, and Asian communities, and a majority of the disenfranchised voters would not support any of the government parties.”
Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris said the expansion of treating offences was “criminalising tikanga” and the earlier enrolment deadline “ignores the lived realities of Māori voters”.
In July, Attorney-General Judith Collins found the bill to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, and indicated 100,000 or more people could be directly or indirectly disenfranchised by the rules banning enrolment in the final 13 days before an election.
Collins also found the blanket disqualification from registration for people in prison would disenfranchise people who had a right to vote, and could not be justified.
The government, however, is pressing ahead, with the Prime Minister and Justice Minister both of the view that being a member of society comes with rights and responsibilities.
The committee received 2738 written submissions on the bill, from 2708 submitters.
The Ministry of Justice found 80.2 percent of submitters opposed the bill, with 0.5 percent supporting it.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
