Category: Electoral Commission

Māori voters should have received an information pack in the mail by now about the 2018 Māori Electoral Option.

Packs have been sent to 477,141 enrolled voters who have identified themselves as being of Māori descent, giving them the option of being on the Māori roll or the general roll for the next two general elections. 252,051 of those voters were on the Māori roll, and 225,090 were on the general roll.  7,686 of the packs went to overseas addresses – 6,151 of them in Australia.

“Voters who are happy with the roll they are on do not need to do anything, but if they would like to change rolls, they can do it now by signing and returning the letter in the pack,” says Mandy Bohté, Electoral Commission National Manager of Enrolment and Community Engagement. 

Māori voters might not have received an information pack if they have changed address, didn’t identify themselves as Māori when they enrolled, or are not enrolled.

“If you’re Māori and you didn’t receive a pack, you can still take part in the Option by filling in a new enrolment form,” says Ms Bohté.  “Do it now so that you can make your choice about which roll you want to be on – the Māori roll or the general roll.”

At a general 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 casting their party vote.

Visit www.maorioption.org.nz or call 0800 36 76 56 for more information. Enrolment forms can be downloaded from the website, and completed forms can be returned by uploading them to the website.

The Māori Electoral Option closes on 2 August.

Ko te tikanga kua whiwhi ngā kaipōti Māori i tētahi mōkī mōhiohio i roto i te mēra mō te Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori 2018.

Kua tukuna atu ngā mōkī ki ngā kaipōti rēhita i kī he uri 477,141 Māori rātau, e whai kōwhiringa ai rātau ki te rārangi Māori, te rārangi whānui rānei mō ngā pōtitanga e rua e whai ake. 252,051 o aua kaipōti i runga i te rārangi Māori, ā, 225,090 i runga i te rārangi whānui.  7,686 o ngā mōkī i tukuna atu ki ngā wāhi noho i tāwāhi – 6,151 o rātau i Ahitereiria.

“Ko ngā kaipōti e rata ana ki te rārangi kei runga kāore he paku mahi mā rātau, engari mēnā e hiahia ana rātau ki te huri rārangi, ka taea tērā te whakatutuki ināianei mā te waitohu me te whakahoki i te reta i rō mōkī,” te kī a Mandy Bohté, Kaiwhakahaere ā-Motu o te Rēhita me te Whitiwhiti ā-Iwi.  

Kāore pea ngā kaipōti Māori i whiwhi i tētahi mōkī mōhiohio mēnā kua rerekē te wāhi noho, kāore rātau i kī he uri Māori rātau i te rēhitatanga, kāore anō rānei kua rēhita.

“Mēnā he Māori koe, ā, kāore koe i whiwhi i tētahi mōkī, ka taea tonu e koe te whakauru ki te Kōwhiringa mā te whakakī i tētahi puka rēhita hou,” te kī a Ms Bohté.  “Me whakatutuki ināianei kia taea e koe tō kōwhiringa te tuku ko tēhea te rārangi e hiahia ana koe te eke ki runga – te rārangi Māori, te rārangi whānui rānei.

I tētahi pōtitanga whānui, ka pōti ngā kaipōti kei te rārangi Māori mō tētahi kaitono i tētahi rohe pōti Māori, ā, ko ngā kaipōti rārangi whānui ka pōti rātau mō tētahi kaitono kei tētahi rohe pōti Whānui.   Ahakoa te rārangi kei runga te kaipōti, ka kōwhiri ia mai i aua rārangi tōrangapū ōrite ina tukuna e rātau tā rātau pōti rōpū.

Haere ki www.maorioption.org.nz, waea koreutu rānei ki te 0800 36 76 56 mō ētahi atu mōhiohio. Ka taea ngā puka rēhita te tikiake mai i te paetukutuku, ā, ka taea ngā puka kua whakaotihia te tukuatu ki te paetukutuku.

Ka kati te Te Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori ā te 2 o Hereturikōkā.

The Electoral Commission has begun preparations for a by-election in the Northcote electorate on Saturday 9 June.

“Voters in the Northcote general electorate will be choosing a new local Member of Parliament,” says Anita Balakrishnan, National Manager of Voting Services for the Electoral Commission.  “As in any by-election, people have only one vote – for their electorate MP.  There is no party vote.”

The Northcote electorate on Auckland’s North Shore includes the suburbs of Northcote, Birkenhead, Beach Haven, Hillcrest and parts of Glenfield.

“If you live in this electorate, make sure that you are enrolled and ready to vote,” says Ms Balakrishnan. “Only those who are enrolled on the general roll in the Northcote electorate are entitled to vote in the by-election.”

The Electoral Commission expects to provide around 25 voting places across the electorate for advance and election day voting.

Information about where and when to vote will be available from www.elections.org.nz from Tuesday 15 May.  Overseas voting will start on Wednesday 23 May, and advance voting will start on Monday 28 May.

Enrolling is quick and easy.  Go online at www.elections.org.nz, call 0800 36 76 56, pop into a PostShop or text your name and address to 3676.  People can also check and update their details at www.elections.org.nz.

More information about enrolling and voting is available from www.elections.org.nz.   A timeline for the Northcote by-election is set out below.

Ka tukuna atu ngā mōkī mōhiohio ki ngā kaipōti Māori 477,000 hei tēnei wiki i te tīmatanga o te Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori 2018.

Ka tū taua Kōwhiringa mai i te 3 o Paengawhāwhā ki te 2 o Hereturikōkā, ā, koinei te wā e āhei ana ngā kaipōti Māori ki te kōwhiri mēnā me eke atu ki te rārangi Māori, ki te rārangi Whānui rānei mō ngā pōtitanga whānui e rua e whai ake.  Ka pōti ngā kaipōti kei te rārangi Māori mō tētahi kaitono i tētahi rohe pōti Māori, ā, ko ngā kaipōti kei te rārangi Whānui ka pōti mō tētahi kaitono kei tētahi rohe pōti Whānui.

“Tāria tō mōkī Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori ka tukuna atu ki tō pouaka mērā i tēnei wiki,” te kī a Mandy Bohté, Kaiwhakahaere ā-Motu o te Rēhita me te Whitiwhiti ā-Iwi.  “Ka whakamōhio atu i a koe kei tēhea rārangi koe, ā, me te tuku wāhanga mōu ki te huri i te momo rārangi.

“Mēnā e pai ana ki a koe te rārangi kei runga koe, kāore he mahi atu anō māu.  Mēnā e hiahia ana koe ki te huri rārangi, me waitohu i te reta ka whakahoki mai,” te kī a Ms Bohté.  Ka taea te reta te whakahoki atu mā te pōhi, me tukuatu rānei ki www.maorioption.org.nz.

Kei te tukuna atu ngā mōkī ki ngā tāngata i kī he uri Māori rātau i tō rātau rēhitatanga ki te pōti.  Kāore e whiwhi mōkī ngā kaipōti mēnā kua rerekē te wāhi noho, kāore rātau i kī he uri Māori rātau i te rēhitatanga, kāore rānei i te rēhita.

“Mēnā he kaipōti Māori koe, ā, kāore koe i whiwhi i tētahi mōkī i te pōhi, haere ki tā mātau paetukutuku ki te tikiake i tētahi puka rēhita,” te kī a Ms Bohté.  “Ka taea e koe te whakahou ō taipitopito rēhita, me te kōwhiri ko tēhea te rārangi e hiahia ana koe ki te eke atu, i te wā kotahi.”

Mō ētahi atu kōrero haere ki www.maorioption.org.nz, waea rānei ki 0800 36 76 56.

Information packs will be sent to 477,000 Māori voters this week as the 2018 Māori Electoral Option gets underway.

The Option runs from 3 April to 2 August and is when Māori voters can choose to be on the Māori roll or the general roll for the next two general elections.  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.

“Look out for the Māori Electoral Option pack addressed to you in your mail box this week,” says Mandy Bohté, Electoral Commission National Manager of Enrolment and Community Engagement.  “It will tell you which roll you’re on and give you the option of changing roll types.

“If you’re happy with the roll you’re on, you don’t need to do anything.  If you do want to change rolls, then sign the letter and return it to us,” says Ms Bohté.  The letter can be returned by post or uploaded to www.maorioption.org.nz.

Packs are being sent to people who identified themselves as being of Māori descent when they enrolled to vote.  Voters won’t receive a pack if they have changed address, didn’t identify themselves as being of Māori descent when they enrolled, or are not enrolled.

“If you’re a Māori voter and don’t receive a pack in the post, go to our website to download an enrolment form,” says Ms Bohté.  “You’ll be able to update your enrolment details, and choose which roll you want to be on, at the same time.”

For more information go to www.maorioption.org.nz or call 0800 36 76 56.