April 17, 2023
Māori roll favoured in electoral option
The Electoral Commission says all Māori voters should have received an information pack in the mail by now about the Māori Electoral Option.
Māori have until July 13 to switch between the Māori or general electoral rolls.
At the beginning of April, information packs were sent to 512,000 voters who identified themselves as being of Māori descent when they enrolled to vote.
Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne says the pack includes a letter confirming which electoral roll the voter is currently on, and information on how to change rolls if they would like to.
He says if people haven’t received a pack, it because it was sent to an old address or the people aren’t enrolled.
People can enrol, update their address, or change rolls on the vote.nz website, or by filling in a new enrolment form.
Māori who want to switch rolls before the 14 October General Election need to make the change before midnight 13 July.
At this year’s election, voters on the Māori roll will vote for a candidate in a Māori electorate and voters on the general roll will vote for a candidate in a general electorate. Whichever roll a voter is on, they will choose from the same list of political parties when it comes to their party vote.
Visit vote.nz for more information or call 0800 36 76 56 to ask for an enrolment form to be sent to you.
Since the option started on March 31, 4,684 voters of Māori descent have changed rolls, enrolled for the first time, or updated their details, including 1,448 people going from the general roll to the Māori roll, and 994 from the Māori roll to the general roll.