September 19, 2017
Electoral Commission acts on Maori voting hurdles
The Electoral Commission says it’s taking seriously complaints about the way Maori voters are being treated by polling officials.
Academic Veronica Tawhai has complained to the commission about a list of problems, including polling booth workers being unaware of the existence of a Maori roll, voters being given wrong advice or wrong ballot papers, and staff being unable to pronounce Maori names or find them in the rolls.
Chief electoral officer Alicia Wright says the commission has talked to Ms Tawhai and is also looking into a small number of complaints from other voters.
She says the commission has about 15,000 people working in voting places, and all receive training on the General Roll and the Maori Roll.
Every voting place issues both Maori and General electorate ballot papers.
A reminder has been sent to all staff about the importance of checking to ensure they issue the correct voting paper to each voter.
If voters are concerned about their experience at a voting place, they should send an email including as much detail as possible to enquiries@elections.govt.nz
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