Electoral Amendment Bill: Submitters want fewer restrictions, more sausages

The government's Electoral Amendment Bill has faced a deluge of criticism as the Justice Committee heard submissions at Parliament on Thursday.

Submitters have said it would breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, disenfranchise communities, create a restrictive enrolment environment, and that prisoner representation through the ballot box should be "welcomed, not denied" and voters should be allowed to have a "democracy sausage".

Many submissions have also referenced comments by the deputy prime minister calling voters who enrol late "dropkicks", saying it is insulting and inaccurate.

The bill makes a suite of changes, including ending same-day voter enrolment, banning prisoner voting, changes to treating on Election Day and expanding anonymous political donation limits.

In announcing the bill, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government was "overhauling outdated and unsustainable electoral laws".

Goldsmith also said in the past, a "total prison voting ban for all sentenced prisoners underlines the importance that New Zealanders afford to the rule of law, and the civic responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with the right to participate in our democracy through voting".

In a regulatory impact statement prepared earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice did not support closing enrolment earlier.

"Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant," officials said.

And Attorney-General Judith Collins has also said the legislation could breach the Bill of Rights.

In a report, Collins concluded that the bill appeared inconsistent with the right to vote, to freedom of expression and the rights of prisoners in certain circumstances regarding changing penalties.

Overwhelming opposition

The Council of Trade Unions pointed out the trend over the past three decades was "greater flexibility" in voter registration.

Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges said the bill took the country in the "opposite direction" by closing enrolment before polling day. She said it "unjustifiably restricts the right to vote".

"We're deeply disturbed by the direction the government is taking here, and we expect that, should it pass, it would have a corrosive impact on New Zealand democracy over time."

Policy analyst Jack Foster added it would create the "most restrictive enrolment environment we've had for a long time".

He said the sponsoring minister claimed it was necessary to speed up the final vote count, which was a "problematic reason".

"Unlike the right to vote, the timeliness of the vote count is not a BORA [Bill of Rights Act] protected right. So if we're going to be making trade-offs between these two, then the former needs to be prioritised over the latter."

Enrolling on polling day was also an "embedded expectation", and it will take a long time for people to adjust to the change.

Community Law Centres Aotearoa said the bill reduced access to voting and suffrage, and placed barriers on enrolment which would result in disenfranchisement and reduced turnout.

Law reform coordinator Rupert O'Brien said the bill placed an "unjustified limit" on the right to vote and was a breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

He spoke about Seymour's comments, saying late enrollees had been described by proponents of the bill "insultingly as lazy and disengaged" and that that was a justification to remove their right to vote.

He said that was not accurate, and late enrollees were just people who were not previously eligible to enrol; and those who would likely be disenfranchised were new permanent residents, people who had moved recently or move frequently, and those with a lack of access to registration paperwork and support to register.

"A person who has already enrolled prior to election day may not necessarily be more engaged than a person who enrols closer to the election. Indeed, it might be argued that a person who takes steps to enrol closer to the election could even be more engaged as they are taking active steps to participate right at the point of election."

Another law reform coordinator, Karen Hodgson, spoke about the ban for prisoners, pointing to the regulatory impact statement from the Ministry of Justice that said it was not aware of any research that demonstrated "prisoner voting bans are effective in deterring further offending or aiding rehabilitation and integration".

"This measure is not consistent with the purpose of our correction system. Voting is a public good. It encourages civic engagement."

A volunteer providing literacy programmes in prisons said the representation of prisoners through the ballot box should be welcomed, not denied. John Bonallack said many prisoners thought about the problems that contribute to offending and reoffending.

"Granting the vote is a way to help prisoners feel that they are a participating part of society.

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which New Zealand as a signatory states everyone has the right to take a part in the government of this country. Everyone includes those in our prisons."

Another submitter who had worked with the Electoral Commission during the 2020 election said the bill frightened him.

Michael Morris acknowledged the Commission made mistakes, but said New Zealand's elections were incredibly well-run.

"I don't think anybody mistrusted the electoral process until this bill came into effect," he said.

Morris said disenfranchising people was the "thin end of the wedge" and it was "getting like Trump's America".

"This doesn't just disenfranchise those people. It frightens people."

The Human Rights Commission highlighted recent studies showing public confidence in New Zealand's institutions and political leadership as "fragile".

Chief Human Rights Commissioner Stephen Rainbow referenced research by the Helen Clark Foundation that showed a high level of scepticism about politics, and research by Freedom House that found the world's young people were "increasingly disengaged from political life, with lower levels of participation in elections among young people across the world".

He said currently, New Zealanders could enroll right up until election day: "This ensures that participation is maximised. We believe that the changes that are proposed reverse a long-term trend of making it more easy for people to vote."

He said it was important to maintain flexibility, particularly for young people.

"By making it more difficult for young people to vote, we risk alienating them and potentially adding to the disillusionment with the political system, with our democracy, which is so precious."

Senior human rights adviser Sophie Bradwell-Pollack was asked about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by Labour's Duncan Webb, and whether the changes would constitute a breach of this agreement to have no "unreasonable restrictions on the right to vote".

Bradwell-Pollack explained the Human Rights Committee who oversaw the implementation of the ICCPR had found against New Zealand last year, indicating the prisoner voting ban was a violation.

She said the crux of the violation was around the connection between the blanket ban and the offence.

"It's arbitrary, because there's no connection between the offense committed and the taking away of the right."

Hāpai te Hauora highlighted the history of disenfranchisement for Māori, particularly the first election in 1853 where Māori were "largely excluded" because of "our communal land holdings".

Policy advisor Amelia Paxton said Māori voices had been ignored and treated as secondary in the past: "That history is not distant for us. It echoes in the decisions we make today and in the laws that shape our democracy."

She referenced the creation of four Māori electorates in 1867: "However, we know they were narrow, intended to be temporary and tightly controlled. Luckily our tupuna stepped through that doorway, determined to be heard in the process."

She pointed out Māori voted on separate days right up until 1951.

"Every reform since then has been hard won. Every time we vote today, we carry that legacy forward."

She said the use of same-day enrolment and flexible enrolment options had made such a difference for Māori engagement.

Sausages could 'improve our democracy'

On changes to treating, Callum McMenamin spoke about politicians standing in the way of voters receiving a "democracy sausage".

"I believe adding more sausages to the situation will certainly improve our democracy rather than harm it."

On a more serious note, he said, "politicians should not be choosing their voters".

"Voters should be choosing their politicians."

He said he strongly opposed the "increased difficulty" to enrol to vote and also criticised Goldsmith's concern about the delay in counting the final vote.

"My argument to that is, what do you do? It's one week. Who actually cares?

"I think people, actual New Zealand voters, would care a lot more about getting a democracy sausage."

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