The Justice Committee has examined the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill and recommends by majority that it be passed. We recommend all amendments by majority.

The Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill aims to support Māori participation in parliamentary and local authority elections by removing current restrictions on people transferring between the Māori and general electoral rolls. It would amend the Electoral Act 1993, the Local Electoral Act 2001, and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001.

The bill would replace the current Māori Electoral Option with a continuous option. At present, electors of Māori descent can only change between the Māori and general electoral rolls in a four-month period that occurs every five to six years. This is in the year of a census, or the following year if a census and general election are in the same year. The continuous option approach would enable people of Māori descent to change between the Māori and general electoral rolls at any time, with no restrictions on the number of changes.

The bill includes an exception to the continuous option. A person residing in an area where there was a parliamentary by-election could not move between electoral rolls, except when a local election was being held at the same time.

As part of our consideration of the bill, we have examined its consistency with principles of legislative quality. We have no issues regarding the legislation’s design to bring to the attention of the House.

This commentary covers the main amendments we recommend to the bill as introduced. We do not discuss minor or technical amendments.

Section 21(b) of the Local Electoral Act specifies when an elector may vote as a special voter in a local election. They must have qualified as an elector but not be entered on the roll of the specific ward, local board area, community, or constituency. Clause 15 of the bill would amend section 21 to enable an elector who had exercised the Māori option in an election period to vote as a special voter.

We understand that the Electoral Act and Local Electoral Act already allow voters who qualify as electors but are not entered on the roll to vote by special vote. We therefore consider that clause 15 is unnecessary and recommend deleting it.

Clause 6, proposed new section 78A, would limit the ability to switch between a Māori and a General electorate in an election period for a by-election. The bill defines “election period” as “the period beginning on the date on which the notice of vacancy is published and ending on the day after the day of the return of the writ”.

During an election period, the Electoral Commission could continue to receive applications to change roll types. However, proposed new section 78A(2) specifies that it could not process applications for a person registered as an elector or named on a dormant roll if it would result in them becoming eligible to vote in a by-election. Proposed new section 78A(3b) provides an exception to section 78A(2). A person could exercise the Māori option during the election period for a by-election if the by-election period coincided with any part of the process for the triennial local election. We understand that this provision is intended to ensure that voters could continue to exercise their roll choice for local elections.

Sections 88 and 98(6) of the Electoral Act specify that the Electoral Commission may not register an elector or remove a name from the roll if the application is received between the day after polling day and the day that the writ is returned. We understand that this aims to uphold the integrity of the vote by giving the Commission time to scrutinise the rolls and determine the official results for an election.

We note that, in situations where a parliamentary by-election and the triennial local election are concurrent, some Māori voters may wish to switch rolls between polling day for the by-election and the day before polling day for the local election. As introduced, new section 78A would allow Māori voters to change rolls up until the return of the writ for the by-election. However, this could include a period when the Electoral Commission was unable to process changes to the roll under sections 88 and 98(6).

To ensure that the integrity of elections is maintained, we believe new section 78A(3)(b) should be consistent with sections 88 and 98(6) of the Electoral Act. We therefore recommend an amendment to make it clear that voters could continue to change rolls under section 78A(3)(b) unless sections 88 and 98(6) applied.

We also recommend amending the definition of “election period” in proposed new section 78A and inserting a definition for “local election period”. Under our proposed amendments, the election period would end on polling day for by-elections. For local elections, it would begin when a notice under section 52 of the Local Electoral Act was published, and would end on polling day. We consider that these amendments would help the Electoral Commission to implement new section 78A.

Clause 4, amended section 3, would replace the definition of “Māori electoral population” in the Electoral Act. Clause 14, amended section 5, would insert the same definition in the Local Electoral Act. The definition states how the Māori electoral population would be calculated.

As introduced, the definitions refer to the total number of Māori persons, on counting or census day, registered as electors of Māori or General electoral districts and named on the dormant rolls for Māori or General electoral districts. However, we received advice that it is not possible to be on the Māori or general roll and the dormant roll at the same time. Therefore, we recommend amending clauses 4 and 14 to specify that the definition refers to voters registered for either Māori or General electoral districts, or people named on the dormant roll.

National members support the status quo in relation to the Māori electoral option, which is that a Māori elector has the opportunity to choose the roll on which they are an elector, i.e. General or Māori, within a 4-month period following each census. This ensures the correct proportionality is maintained, so that Māori and General electorates have the same voting age population. We are open, however, to providing more opportunities between censuses, but not to the extent proposed in this bill.

Providing the opportunity to switch between rolls at any time and as many times as a person likes, as proposed by the bill, leaves the system open to tactical roll switching. This is acknowledged in the bill with regard to by-elections, where people could shift between rolls for tactical purposes. The bill rightly precludes roll switching during a by-election.

The bill does not include an equivalent prohibition in relation to the period around general elections. It should do so, because the same opportunity for tactical roll switching applies—meaning that one group of New Zealanders have the opportunity to choose which roll will provide the greatest advantage in any given election (the outcome of a person’s Māori electorate might be a forgone conclusion, while the General electorate in which they live might be highly marginal, or vice versa).

We are disappointed, given the desirability of bipartisan support for electoral law changes, that no effort has been made by the Government to accommodate our concerns.

We note also that the committee is awaiting written advice on the impact of clause 5 of the bill requiring 75 percent support of Parliament, and still await that advice.

ACT supports the intention of this bill. That is, enabling those registered on either the General or Māori rolls greater flexibility to change electoral rolls. The vision is that the policy will encourage more voters of Māori descent to participate during election periods.

ACT agrees that the current requirement of an elector having to stay on the Māori roll for five years is nonsensical. However, we do not agree that any elector should have the ability to swap and change electoral rolls as often as they like, the exception being during a by-election. This is called the continuous model.

It is our view that one person, one vote means that any elector who changes their electoral roll choice should do so only once within an electoral cycle. The option to swap rolls is not available to every elector. As one submitter has pointed out, this does not put all voters on an even playing field. Having consistency in allowing a roll change to occur only once within an election cycle shows a fairness to participation for all potential voters.

A local council expressed concerns around administration of information with the continuous model being implemented. ACT shares the same concerns which also include potential costs to local councils both in time and money when it comes to management of the process. We note advice from the officials that they had no concerns and in their departmental report referred to no issues around collecting fluctuating statistical data as other avenues can be used to make local determinations. In our opinion this may mean councils with less budget would be forced to access statistical information for planning purposes from other agencies with unknown cost implications.

Much can be said about the impact the policy in this format can have around encouragement of participation in elections. While encouraging one group of electors, we are potentially discouraging another by disadvantaging them from accessing the same voting rights that their peers receive within a continuous model.

The amendments made to date at select committee are agreed to by us. However, we cannot support the continuous model as drafted. ACT says that those that make a choice to change rolls should stand by their decision for one election cycle. We would support this bill in its entirety if a change was made to allow only one electoral roll change per election cycle, i.e. once every three years.