“allotment has the meaning given by section 218(2) of the Resource Management Act 1991”.

“19JA Minor alterations to boundaries by territorial authority

• “(1) A territorial authority may, in accordance with this section, determine by resolution new proposed boundaries of wards, communities, or subdivisions of communities of the district of the territorial authority.

  “(2) The territorial authority must be satisfied that,—

  • “(a) since the existing boundaries of the wards, communities, or subdivisions of communities took effect as the basis for election at the last triennial general election, there have been changes at or near those boundaries to the boundaries of 1 or more allotments; and

  • “(b) the proposed boundaries of the wards, communities, or subdivisions constitute only minor alterations to the existing boundaries; and

  • “(c) the minor alterations will maintain the effective representation of communities of interest affected by the changes to the boundaries of the allotments; and

  • “(d) so far as is practicable, the proposed boundaries of the wards, communities, or subdivisions coincide with the boundaries of allotments; and

  • “(e) so far as is practicable, ward boundaries coincide with community boundaries (if applicable).

  “(3) Every meeting at which the territorial authority deliberates on the proposals contained in the resolution must be open to the public, except as provided by Part 7 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

  “(4) The territorial authority must refer the resolution to the Commission together with the information concerning the communities of interest and population of the district or community, and the proposed wards, communities, or subdivisions, that is held by the territorial authority and is necessary for the purposes of subsection (6).

  “(5) In the year of a triennial general election, the territorial authority must refer the resolution and information to the Commission no later than 15 January.

  “(6) On receiving the reference, the Commission must—

  • “(a) consider the resolution and information forwarded to it; and

  • “(b) determine whether to uphold the proposed boundaries of the wards, communities, or subdivisions.

  “(7) For the purposes of making its determination, the Commission may make any enquiries that it considers appropriate.

  “(8) The Commission may determine to uphold the proposed boundaries only if it is satisfied of the matters specified in subsection (2).

  “(9) The Commission must make its determination under subsection (6)(b) before 11 April in the year of the next triennial general election.

  “(10) Section 19S applies to the Commission's determination as if it were made under section 19R(1)(b), and section 19Y(3) to (6) apply with any necessary modifications.

  “(11) A territorial authority must not use this section if the territorial authority—

  • “(a) is required to make a resolution under section 19H before the next triennial general election; or

  • “(b) has, since the last triennial general election, made a resolution under section 19H; or

  • “(c) has, since the last triennial general election, already made a resolution under this section that was upheld by the Commission under subsection (6)(b).

“19JB Minor alterations to boundaries by regional council

• “(1) A regional council may, in accordance with this section, determine by resolution new proposed boundaries of constituencies of the region of the regional council.

  “(2) The regional council must be satisfied that,—

  • “(a) since the existing boundaries of the constituencies took effect as the basis for election at the last triennial general election, there have been changes at or near those boundaries to the boundaries of 1 or more allotments; and

  • “(b) the proposed boundaries of the constituencies constitute only minor alterations to the existing boundaries; and

  • “(c) the minor alterations will maintain the effective representation of communities of interest affected by the changes to the boundaries of the allotments; and

  • “(d) so far as is practicable, the proposed boundaries of the constituencies coincide with the boundaries of allotments; and

  • “(e) so far as is practicable, constituency boundaries coincide with the boundaries of 1 or more territorial authority districts or the boundaries of wards.

  “(3) Every meeting at which the regional council deliberates on the proposals contained in the resolution must be open to the public, except as provided by Part 7 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

  “(4) The regional council must refer the resolution to the Commission together with the information concerning the communities of interest and population of the region, and the proposed constituencies, that is held by the regional council and is necessary for the purposes of subsection (6).

  “(5) In the year of a triennial general election, the regional council must refer the resolution and information to the Commission no later than 15 January.

  “(6) On receiving the reference, the Commission must—

  • “(a) consider the resolution and information forwarded to it; and

  • “(b) determine whether to uphold the proposed boundaries of the constituencies.

  “(7) For the purposes of making its determination, the Commission may make any enquiries that it considers appropriate.

  “(8) The Commission may determine to uphold the proposed boundaries only if it is satisfied of the matters specified in subsection (2).

  “(9) The Commission must make its determination under subsection (6)(b) before 11 April in the year of the next triennial general election.

  “(10) Section 19S applies to the Commission's determination as if it were made under section 19R(1)(b), and section 19Y(3) to (6) apply with any necessary modifications.

  “(11) A regional council must not use this section if the regional council—

  • “(a) is required to make a resolution under section 19I before the next triennial general election; or

  • “(b) has, since the last triennial general election, made a resolution under section 19I; or

  • “(c) has, since the last triennial general election, already made a resolution under this section that was upheld by the Commission under subsection (6)(b).”

• “(1AA) A resolution under section 19H, 19I, or 19J that affects the next triennial general election of members of a territorial authority, regional council, or community board must be passed no earlier than 1 March of the year before the year of the election.”

• “(a) if the territorial authority or the Commission considers that 1 or more of the following apply, wards and subdivisions of a community may be defined and membership distributed between them in a way that does not comply with subsection (2):

  • “(i) non-compliance with subsection (2) is required for effective representation of communities of interest within island communities or isolated communities situated within the district of the territorial authority; or

  • “(ii) compliance with subsection (2) would limit effective representation of communities of interest by dividing a community of interest between wards or subdivisions; or

  • “(iii) compliance with subsection (2) would limit effective representation of communities of interest by uniting within a ward or subdivision 2 or more communities of interest with few commonalities of interest:”.

• “(1A) The public notice of the basis for election must—

  • “(a) specify the communities of interest considered by the territorial authority (as required by sections 19T and 19V) or regional council (as required by sections 19U and 19V); and

  • “(b) specify the ratio of population to members for each ward, constituency, or subdivision, and the reasons for the determination of that number of members, and of those wards, constituencies, or subdivisions, in terms of section 19V(2) and, if applicable, section 19V(3).”

• “(e) the electoral officer receives the deposit prescribed for the applicable class of elections; and

• “(f) the electoral officer receives the following together:

  • “(i) the nomination paper required by subsection (1):

  • “(ii) the consent and certification required by paragraph (a):

  • “(iii) the deposit required by paragraph (e).”

• “(3) The consent and certification required by subsection (2)(a) may be given in a manner other than in writing that is approved by the electoral officer, if the person concerned is outside New Zealand.”

• “(i) withdraws or has his or her nomination cancelled under section 69A; or”.

• “(b) must be provided to the electoral officer together with the nomination paper and other things referred to in section 55(2)(f); and”.

• “(ca) must specify whether the candidate's principal place of residence is in the local government area or subdivision for which the candidate seeks election (in that the candidate is qualified as a residential elector for that local government area or subdivision); and

• “(cb) if the candidate is seeking election to more than 1 position, must specify each position and state that the candidate is seeking to be elected to the positions; and”.

• “(2A) The information required by subsection (2)(ca) and (cb) does not count for the purposes of the word limit under subsection (2)(a).”

“Death, incapacity, or invalid or cancelled nominations of candidates”.

“69 Application for cancellation of nomination if candidate incapacitated after close of nominations

• “(1) An application may be made for the cancellation of the nomination of a candidate if the candidate becomes incapacitated after the close of nominations but before the close of voting.

  “(2) The application must be made to the electoral officer by—

  • “(a) the 2 electors who nominated the candidate; or

  • “(b) the candidate's agent, if 1 or both electors are unavailable or unable to act for any reason.

  “(3) The application must be made on a form provided by the electoral officer, and must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace or a solicitor.

  “(4) The application must be accompanied by a certificate signed by a medical practitioner that certifies—

  • “(a) as to the candidate's condition; and

  • “(b) that, in the practitioner's opinion, the candidate is incapacitated.

  “(5) The application must be submitted to the electoral officer—

  • “(a) as soon as practicable after the candidate becomes incapacitated; and

  • “(b) before the close of voting.

  “(6) The application may be submitted by hand, post, fax, or electronic transmission.

  “(7) In this section,—

  “incapacitated means that a candidate, because he or she is suffering from a serious illness or has sustained a serious injury, would be unlikely to be capable of performing the functions and duties of office if elected to the office

  “medical practitioner means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand continued by section 114(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of medicine.

“69A How application for cancellation of nomination dealt with

• “(1) On receiving an application under section 69, the electoral officer must promptly determine whether the candidate became incapacitated (as defined by section 69(7)) after the close of nominations but before the close of voting.

  “(2) For the purposes of making the determination, the electoral officer may make any inquiries, and seek any assistance (including expert medical assistance), that the electoral officer considers necessary.

  “(3) If, before the close of voting, the electoral officer determines that the candidate became incapacitated as described in subsection (1), the electoral officer must cancel the candidate's nomination.

  “(4) If the electoral officer has not made a determination before the close of voting, the application is to be treated as having been declined.

  “(5) As soon as practicable after making a determination, the electoral officer must inform the applicant of the determination.”

• “(a) the electoral officer has cancelled under section 69A a candidate's nomination in any election; or”.

“73A Adjournment of electoral processes

• “(1) The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made in accordance with this section, specify a later date for 1 or more of the following in respect of a triennial general election of members of 1 or more local authorities and community boards:

  • “(a) the date by which, or dates during which, a certain qualification entitles an elector to be included on the electoral roll:

  • “(b) the nomination day:

  • “(c) the polling day:

  • “(d) the date by which anything else may or must be done under this Act or regulations made under this Act.

  “(2) The Order in Council must be made in the year in which the triennial general election is to be held.

  “(3) A date specified by the Order in Council must be no more than 6 weeks after the date that would otherwise have applied.

  “(4) A date may be specified by the Order in Council only if the order commences on or before the date that would otherwise have applied.

  “(5) The Order in Council must be made on the recommendation of the Minister.

  “(6) Before recommending the making of the Order in Council, the Minister—

  • “(a) must be satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that the order is necessary to ensure that the adverse effects of an emergency (whether local or national) or of anything referred to in section 73(1)(a) to (d) do not deny electors a reasonable opportunity to cast a valid vote, nominate a candidate, or accept nomination as a candidate in relation to the election; and

  • “(b) must have consulted every local authority and electoral officer that will be affected.

  “(7) Upon the commencement of an Order in Council made under this section,—

  • “(a) a date specified in the order has effect in relation to the triennial general election of members of the 1 or more local authorities and community boards to which the order applies; and

  • “(b) this Act and any regulations made under this Act apply to the election with any necessary modifications.

  “(8) The electoral officer must, as soon as practicable, give public notice of every change of date made by the Order in Council, and may give any other notice that the electoral officer considers desirable.”

• “(g) a warning describing the offences that a person may commit under sections 123(1)(c) and 124(b).”

• “(e) a warning describing the offences that a person may commit under sections 123(1)(c) and 124(b).”

• “(1) The electoral officer may, at his or her discretion, process in the prescribed manner any voting documents received before the close of voting for any election or poll.”

• “(1) Candidates at a triennial general election who are declared to be elected come into office on the day after the day on which the official result of the election is declared by public notice under section 86.”