(1) These regulations may be cited as the Historic Places Trust Elections Regulations 1993.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 28th day after the date of their notification in the Gazette.

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

(2) Every reference in Schedule 1 to any named district or city shall be read as a reference to the district or city of that name listed in Part 2 of Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 2002.

(3) [Revoked]

(1) The chief executive officer shall appoint a returning officer for every election under the Act.

(2) If for any reason the returning officer appointed is unable to act in performance of his or her duties, the chief executive officer may appoint another person to complete the duties of returning officer specified in these regulations.

(3) Neither the returning officer nor a person appointed under subclause (2) shall be a candidate in the election for which he or she is the returning officer or be a member of the Board.

(1) An individual member—

• (a) is eligible to vote in the region that includes the individual member’s address as stated on the roll; and

• (b) may cast 1 vote.

(2) A group member—

• (a) is eligible to vote in the region that includes the group member’s address as stated on the roll; and

• (b) may cast 2 votes.

(3) If the address of an individual member or a group member as stated on the roll is outside New Zealand, the Trust must treat the member as being enrolled to vote in the Central Region.

(4) When an election is held, the returning officer must send—

• (a) 1 voting paper to the address of each individual member as stated on the roll; and

• (b) 2 voting papers to the address of each group member as stated on the roll.

(5) For the purposes of the roll, a member may not have more than 1 address.

(1) The Trust must maintain a database of its membership.

(2) When an election is held, the returning officer must use the database as the roll for the election.

(3) The roll must be—

• (a) divided into 3 regions as specified in Schedule 1; and

• (b) in the form set out in Schedule 2.

(4) The roll must—

• (a) close at 5 pm on the 30th day preceding the date of the election; and

• (b) remain closed until the election is completed.

(5) Subject to regulations 6(3) and 10, except pursuant to a request for the addition or alteration of an entry in the roll made before the roll is closed, no addition or alteration may be made to the roll while it is closed.

(1) The returning officer shall ensure that—

• (a) the names on the roll are in alphabetical order within each region; and

• (b) the roll is completed as soon as practicable after the closing of the roll under regulation 5(4).

(2) Before sending out voting papers, the returning officer shall ensure that a certificate signed by him or her to the effect that the roll has been duly compiled is attached to the roll.

(3) Subject to regulation 10, once the roll has been completed and certified it shall not be amended for any reason before the conduct of the election for which it has been compiled, except where the returning officer is satisfied that the member is dead or no longer exists in which case the returning officer shall remove the name of the member from the roll.

(1) Before and after it closes, the roll shall be open to inspection for the purpose referred to in subclause (2), in the presence of a person authorised by the Trust during usual business hours of the Trust at the principal office of the Trust in Wellington and, upon request being made, during such hours at regional offices of the Trust.

(2) Any person is entitled to inspect any entry about that person on the roll.

(1) At least 45 days before any election, the returning officer shall give every branch committee a notice—

• (a) stating the intention to hold an election and the date of the election; and

• (b) calling for the committee to put forward the names of candidates.

(2) The notice shall specify the following:

• (a) the place where the roll is held:

• (b) the fact that the roll is open to inspection:

• (c) the day and time by which candidates’ names are to be received by the returning officer, which date shall be no later than 25 days before the election:

• (d) the requirement that the candidates supply biographical details of not more than 250 words:

• (e) the regions:

• (f) the number of members to be elected:

• (g) the day and hour the poll closes in accordance with regulation 12(2).

(1) A branch committee must nominate all eligible candidates who wish to stand for election in its region.

(2) The nomination form shall—

• (a) be in the form specified in Schedule 3; and

• (b) be signed by an office holder of the branch committee and the candidate; and

• (c) be submitted to the returning officer within the period specified under regulation 8(2)(c).

(2A) An office holder—

• (a) may sign his or her own nomination in his or her capacity as a candidate; but

• (b) may not sign his or her own nomination in his or her capacity as an office holder.

(3) To be eligible to stand for election, a member must—

• (a) be a natural person; and

• (b) be eligible to vote in the region for which the candidate is nominated (either as an individual member or as a part of a group member); and

• (c) not be disqualified under section 30 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (qualifications of members); and

• (d) not be a member solely by virtue of a membership that is extended to a corporation sole, a body corporate, or an unincorporated body.

(4) No candidates shall have their election campaign subsidised or supported in any way from the funds of the Trust. The payment by the Trust of the costs of publishing a candidate’s biographical details does not constitute such a subsidy or support.

(1) At least 25 days before the date of the election, the returning officer shall forward to each person who is recorded on the roll, by posting to the person at the address appearing on the roll, a printed voting paper in the form specified in Schedule 4 together with—

• (a) an envelope addressed to the returning officer and inscribed with the words “Voting Paper”; and

• (b) an information sheet containing any biographical details supplied by candidates.

(2) The voting paper shall contain—

• (a) the names of all candidates for the appropriate region, in alphabetical order of their surnames or family names; and

• (b) the name of the region for which each candidate wishes to be elected; and

• (c) a unique number assigned by the returning officer.

(3) The returning officer shall maintain a master roll and enter on it each unique number assigned under subclause (2)(c).

(4) The master roll maintained under subclause (3) shall be kept separate from any other roll maintained under these regulations and be confidential to the returning officer and scrutineers, and shall not be open for inspection under regulation 7.

(1) After voting, the member must, by hand or by post, deliver the voting paper to the returning officer sealed in—

• (a) the return envelope that came with the voting paper; or

• (b) any other envelope that the member has addressed to the returning officer as specified in the voting paper.

(2) For the purposes of subclause (1),—

• (a) delivery by hand to the principal office of the Trust during usual business hours of the Trust on any date before the date of the election or not later than 5 pm on the date of the election is to be treated as delivery by hand to the returning officer:

• (b) delivery to the address specified in the voting paper by a postal operator registered in accordance with the Postal Services Act 1998 is to be treated as delivery to the returning officer.

(3) On the date of the election, the returning officer shall keep his or her office open until the close of voting to enable envelopes containing voting papers to be handed to him or her.

(1) A vote is invalid, and shall not be counted, if—

• (a) a member,—

  • (i) being an individual member, votes more than once in the election; or

  • (ii) being a group member, votes more than twice in the election; or

• (b) the member votes for more candidates than there are members to be elected; or

• (c) in the opinion of the returning officer, the voting paper does not clearly indicate the candidate for whom the member intended to vote; or

• (d) the returning officer believes on reasonable grounds that the voting paper was not issued to the member by the returning officer; or

• (e) the vote is not sealed in an envelope in accordance with regulation 11(1).

(2) A vote is invalid and shall not be counted unless it is delivered to the returning officer not later than 5 pm on the date of the election in accordance with regulation 11.

(3) Every vote that is deemed invalid shall be enfaced with the date and time of receipt and the reason for invalidation, and may be destroyed after 3 months from the date of the election.

(1) A candidate for election may withdraw from the election by written notice to the returning officer.

(2) If any candidate withdraws or dies after voting papers have been printed and before the date of the election, any votes given for that candidate shall be disregarded.

(1) Two scrutineers shall be appointed by the chief executive officer. Subject to subclause (2), they shall be persons who are not themselves standing for election and have no personal involvement with any of the candidates either as relatives or business partners or otherwise.

(2) Employees of the Trust may be scrutineers.

(3) It is not necessary for the scrutineers themselves to be members of the Trust.

(4) For the purposes of subclause (1), a person is a relative of a candidate if the person is related to the candidate by blood or through marriage, a civil union, or a de facto relationship, or by adoption.

(1) The returning officer shall, before the fifth working day after the date of the election and in the presence of the 2 scrutineers, examine and open the envelopes, examine the voting papers, and count the valid votes.

(2) On counting the valid votes, the returning officer shall, in the presence and hearing of the 2 scrutineers, from the voting papers delivered to him or her, conduct a scrutiny of the master roll by drawing on a copy of the roll a line in pencil or ink through the number and name of every member who appears to have voted.

(3) The scrutiny of the master roll may be carried out by mechanical or electronic means in the presence of the returning officer and scrutineers.

(4) If, from the marking of the master roll and after such inquiry as the returning officer thinks necessary, it appears that any person (not being a family or senior citizen family or joint life member) has voted more than once at the election, the returning officer shall, in the presence of the scrutineers, extract the voting papers on which the number corresponding to the name of that person appears and, taking care to ensure that the voting papers so extracted are so covered that the votes recorded thereon are not seen by any person present, shall disallow every vote appearing to have been given by means of the voting papers so extracted.

(5) The highest polling candidate for each region shall be considered successful.

Where, because each of 2 or more candidates has received the same number of valid votes, the returning officer cannot ascertain which of them has been elected, the matter shall be decided by lot in the presence of the 2 scrutineers.

(1) Within 5 working days after ascertaining which candidate or candidates have been elected, the returning officer shall sign a certificate declaring the result of the election. The 2 scrutineers shall also sign the certificate. The returning officer shall then notify in writing the election result to all candidates, the chairperson of the Board, and the chief executive officer.

(2) Within 7 working days of the signing of the certificate the returning officer shall arrange for public notification in daily newspapers circulating in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, of the names of the members elected and declaring them elected.

(1) Any candidate may apply to the chief executive officer for a recount within 3 working days after the first public notification of the election results.

(2) Unless satisfied that the application is frivolous or vexatious, the chief executive officer shall appoint an employee of the Trust or some other person to conduct a recount.

(3) The person conducting the recount shall—

• (a) cause the recount to be commenced within 3 working days after the expiry of the period specified in subclause (1); and

• (b) give notice in writing to the returning officer, the scrutineers, and to each of the candidates of the time and place at which the recount will be made.

(4) The recount shall so far as practicable be made in the manner provided in the case of the original count.

(5) No person shall be present at the recount except—

• (a) the person appointed to conduct the recount; and

• (b) the assistants (if any) appointed by the person conducting the recount; and

• (c) the returning officer and the assistants (if any) of the returning officer; and

• (d) the scrutineers.

(6) The person conducting the recount shall have all the powers that the returning officer had on the original count.

(7) If on the recount the person conducting the recount finds that the declaration of the result was incorrect, the person shall inform the returning officer of the correct result, and the returning officer shall—

• (a) amend and sign the certificate provided under regulation 17(1); and

• (b) give public notification of the amended declaration in the manner provided in regulation 17(2).

Every returning officer, scrutineer, and other person assisting such persons shall faithfully and impartially perform the duties of that office and shall not, directly or indirectly,—

• (a) before signing the certificate required under regulation 17(1), make known the state of the poll or give or pretend to give any information by which the state of the poll might be known; or

• (b) make known for which candidate any person has voted; or

• (c) give any person any information likely to defeat the secrecy of an election.

Where, at the close of the day specified for the receipt of candidate’s names in accordance with regulation 8(2)(c), the number of persons standing for election does not exceed 1 for any region, the returning officer shall, on the date of the election and otherwise in accordance with regulation 17, declare the existing candidate to be duly elected for that region, and a postal vote shall not be conducted in that region.

Forthwith after declaring the results of an election, the returning officer shall seal up the voting papers and—

• (a) shall not open them unless a recount is conducted under regulation 18; and

• (b) shall keep them at the principal office of the Trust for 3 months; and

• (c) shall then destroy them.

(1) Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 who contravenes or fails to comply with regulation 9(4).

(2) Every returning officer or scrutineer or person assisting any such person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, who is guilty of any wilful or negligent act of commission or omission contrary to the provisions of these regulations in respect of any election.