Proposals for law governing elections

Press, 2 June 1980, Page 10

Proposals for law governing elections

Apart from its recommendations on the marking of voting papers, which were debated in the House of Representatives on Thursday, Parliament’s committee on electoral law has produced more than 50 proposals on the law governing elections. It has yet to report on Parliamentary representation and on a common roll for Parliamentary elections.

The chairman of the committee. Mr P. I. Wilkinson, has sought an extension of time for the committee to consider these topics and to monitor the recommendations it has made so far. The committee wishes to remain in existence until 28 days after the commencement of the 1981 session of Parliament.

The committee made five recommendations on responsibility for administration of electoral law:

That responsibility for tire Electoral Act and related regulations and for the overall conduct of the 1981 General Election remain vested in the Department of Justice, without prejudice to

the allocation of responsibility beyond 1981; That the sole responsibility for roll compilation be vested in the Post Office and that the Minister accountable be the Minister of Justice; That all other departments involved, re tain their existing functions under the Electoral Act and that the Minister accountable in each case be the Minister of Justice; ■ That, a standing committee of officials at permanent head level be appointed to supervise and co-ordinate electoral law administration; and

That the Post Office officers appointed as local electoral officers not be transferred within a period of 12 months before a General Election.

Changes in the law are sought to remove the need to reregister electors after each five-yearly census of popuation. The committee proposes that a general revision of the rolls be undertaken every three years. The first general revision of the rolls should be undertaken in the last quarter of

1980 with a view to having accurate and up-to-date rolls for the 1981 General Election, says the report.

A new definition of the electoral roll is proposed. The roll would be the returned revision cards and enrolment cards held by the registrars. The term “general electoral population” would replace the term “European population” in the Electoral Act and the definition would exclude specific groups of transient persons.

The computer system should be retained, says the report and major modifications should be made to the input system. The committee wants information on occupations to be retained on the rolls. A roll number for each elector’s record would be used only internally within the computer roll system and printed rolls would retain numbers for pages and line reference.

A private computer expert, independent of the computer services division and responsible to the Minister through the Secretary for Justice, should be con-

suitant to toe Minister and technical adviser to toe officials committee, says the report.

The Parliamentary committee seeks a detailed brief for work by the computer sendees division on the development and implementation of the modified computer system. and monthly reports on the computer system which would include a report on all aspects of roll compilation. The Maori option should be offered in 1982 to coincide with electoral redistribution, says the report. The 1976 option, and options validly exercised since then, should be left to apply to the 1981 election (as in present law). This would allow the Maori people to exercise their option free of pressure from political parties in an election year and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and the Maori rolls, says the report.

The officials committee on electoral matters should prepare a draft form for the exercise of the Maori option (to comply with Section 43 A of the Electoral Act, 1956)

and to take account of tea need for clarity.

Copies of printed rolls should continue to be available for purchase for nonelectoral purposes, says toe report. Enrolment and revision cards should be available for inspection for electoral purposes and computer printouts should be available for inspection by the public. Political parties and candidates could obtain computer tapes of electoral roll information. as it appears on the printed rolls, in the latest form available. The committeee wants an explanation of all practicable means by which local' authorities'might be enlisted to ensure that qualified persons exercise their right to register as electors. To the definition of a person “ordinarily resident in New Zealand” for registration purposes, the report proposes the qualification; “He is a New Zealand citizen or is lawfully ordinarily resident in New Zealand and his residency is not subject to any restriction as to its duration.” The committee seeks no

changes in the law cn the toree-month residential requirements in an electorate for registration, on the minimum .voting age, or on the disqualification of persons detained in a penal institution after a conviction. Disqualification should be extended, says the report, to inmates detained in a psychiatric hospital pursuant to Section 42 of the Mental Health Act. This section concerns persons detained as special patients after conviction or on an order made under the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Act.

Among its recommendations on special voting, toe committee recommends that regulations provide for a category of witnesses to declarations, limited to those authorised to take statutory declarations, to those authorised by the candidate and endorsed by the returning officer, and to relatives or, members of households of the applicant.

The committee has come out against the introduction of am early voting scheme for General Elections.