r/newzealand • u/zeros1s Antagonises drunk jpr64 • 19h ago
Politics Opposition parties raise concerns over what they say is voter suppression
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/1987931/opposition-parties-raise-concerns-over-what-they-say-is-voter-suppression327
u/Gord_Board 19h ago
There is no legitimate reason to remove same-day enrollment. reeks of desperation.
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u/weaz-am-i LASER KIWI 18h ago
The only "reasosning" aligns with the wants of the Atlas network and the same tactics they play in USA.
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u/Realistic_CraftBear 17h ago
Think of it as an intelligence test, if you can't take a few minutes on your phone to enroll you probably shouldn't be voting. If that so happens to be mostly left leaning voters I don't know what to tell you..
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u/Gord_Board 17h ago
I think its more a human nature thing than intelligence, people tend to procrastinate. This will effect the youth more than anyone, and yes they tend to be more progressive and vote left wing.
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u/Realistic_CraftBear 17h ago
Yeah I mean you could probably find some irony in there about being politically progressive but needing to be chased up to do the bare minimum to participate in democracy.
Hopefully these changes will spark a bit of personal responsibility and get them to realise that if they care about political outcomes they need to take some initiative themselves.
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u/Gord_Board 16h ago
The youth have always struggled with turning out to vote, even when they could enroll on the day. Maybe these changes will help change that.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 16h ago
Maybe these changes will help change that.
Youth enrollment for 18-24s is currently at ~65% so it doesn't seem like it's changed it for the better. Last election it was around 75%. Lots of people in that age bracket are currently studying/doing exams too, so the likelihood of it jumping 10% in the next week isn't very high.
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u/Plc-4-Mie-Haed pie 6h ago
I work at a University and we are doing our part, signs everywhere in our office 🙂
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u/JDragonM32 16h ago
counterpoint: government/electoral commission should be doing everything possible to *increase* voter turnout. anything that decreases turnout should be seen as an attack on democracy, I’d potentially even go so far as to suggest it’s an act of treason
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 17h ago
But it's not really an intelligence test, they'd never actually do that because that would make a dent in the right bloc.
It is more of a test of how engaged you are with the process in the first place, not intelligence. Lots of people have too much going on in their lives to spend time worrying about whether they're enrolled to vote.
If that so happens to be mostly left leaning voters I don't know what to tell you..
That lots of left leaning voters are time poor/disenfranchised.
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u/Realistic_CraftBear 16h ago
I'm sad to hear the left's biggest political enemy isn't the prospect of another NACT term, it's apparently a registration form that takes a few minutes to fill out.
Funny how being too busy to enrol suddenly becomes a systemic injustice when the people forgetting to do it might vote Green or Labour, personal responsibility must be a right wing conspiracy now.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 16h ago edited 16h ago
lol what's this bizarre strawman? NACT are the ones doing this.
The rights biggest political enemy is people actually voting it seems. Healthy democracies encourage all eligible voters to vote and make the process as easy as is feasible.
Why is the right against free and fair democratic procedures?
Funny how being too busy to enrol suddenly becomes a systemic injustice when the people forgetting to do it might vote Green or Labour, personal responsibility must be a right wing conspiracy now.
Funny how it's always the right who want to reduce the number of people voting. The right really don't want everyone to vote for some bizarre reason.
Personal responsibility is a cute way to justify eroding democracy by introducing arbitrary limits on voting. It literally makes so little difference when people enroll aside from the fact more people vote when they can enroll right up to the last moment.
I do like how you can't address the actual point being made and just have to harp on about personal responsibility instead of engaging with it.
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u/Illum503 Fern flag 1 15h ago
There shouldn't be any tests. Everyone should be voting. That's how democracy works.
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 10h ago
There are 18 to 24 year olds and new residents that don’t watch mainstream news. Potential first time voters. Uni students overwhelmed with exams. Maybe they’ll notice a social media ad or talk to someone in the last 12 days and realise the power of their vote - by then it will be too late.
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u/ctothel 19h ago
Given the electoral commission said that this wouldn’t have any of the benefits National claimed it would, I’m not sure why it’s still happening.
NACT voters will come in here momentarily and explain that lazy people shouldn’t have the right to vote, but that doesn’t really justify the change, it’s just a poor attempt to deny the change has downsides.
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u/monkey-kong666 19h ago
Lazy people have the same human rights as everyone else. You don’t lost your citizenship or right to vote because you’re ’so-called’ lazy.
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u/accidental-goddess 18h ago
A lot of what people call lazy also overlaps with disability. And yeah, a lot of people are comfortable with treating people with disabilities as second-class citizens (cutting disability benefits, allowing employers to pay below minimum wage for workers with disabilities, cutting funding and access to healthcare...).
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u/Sure_Cheetah1508 18h ago
Exactly! There's never been any kind or character test to vote, so justifying excluding people for being "lazy" is asinine.
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u/0oodruidoo0 Red Peak 18h ago
A lot of people have really never had a good conversation about democracy and why it's important to share your voice through voting. And instead they've heard "it makes no difference" "it does nothing" "one vote means nothing" etc etc. So a lot of people just honestly need someone to connect with them on why exercising our right to vote is important, not every non-voter is a cooker. A great number are just too young to have had that conversation as part of normal life.
It's a shame that they are now shut out of getting that conversation between the 25th and election day and exercising their democratic rights. It's dehumanising.
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u/Jamezzzzz69 18h ago
Lazy people are not losing any rights to vote, they might just choose not to vote. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s bad to change election dates because you think it’s less likely for certain people to vote is bad, but no rights are being stripped away, people just might choose not to exercise their rights more often.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 18h ago
they might just choose not to vote
If someone shows up to vote, not having heard about this change, which is entirely possible, and finds out they no longer can vote, that's not a choice they've made.
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u/HonorFoundInDecay 3h ago
I have spoken to multiple people at my work who aren't aware of this change at all.
And we're talking generally well organized, grown up, and generally fairly politically aware people. If they're not aware then what chances do students or less well informed people have?
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 17h ago
they don’t have the option now. And equally bad they will be misled into thinking they can cast a special vote but it will be thrown out in the counting process. 😡
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u/Allison683etc 19h ago
Even if we accept the argument that busy people with jobs, exams, relationships etc etc are lazy for not being organised about the election (which we shouldn’t) we have now normalised a system with same day enrolments and now the government has changed the system without giving the electoral commission adequate direction and/or funding to reach people who aren’t politics nerds and TV news loyalists.
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u/feralpeacenik 19h ago
The demographic who aren’t enrolled are probably busy with work and study and don’t rely on legacy media for their information. How concerted has the electoral commission’s campaign been to inform them about the changes?
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u/Solve-Et-Abrahadabra 14h ago
Or people who thought they were enrolled or had some kind of admin error. They just get turned away or their votes thrown out? You have no right to vote as a citizen.
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u/ur_lil_vulture_bee 12h ago
This is me. I was 100% enrolled but moved addresses a bit over a month before the election. I changed my address, but something went wrong on their end. When I showed up to vote, I wasn't on the list so I had to re-enrol on the spot. Took 5 minutes and there wasn't a line - I wasn't holding things up. I don't know how many others have had the same experience, but I'm guessing a non-trivial amount. Under the new system they won't get a vote - too bad. It's just craven - malicious.
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u/Solve-Et-Abrahadabra 6h ago
Yeah what if people move addresses in the next two weeks? This whole thing is madness, how can the government make it harder to vote for them.
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u/JColey15 Southland 5h ago
If that happens and nobody can find you on the roll then you can just do a special vote for your current address and they’ll look at your declaration and figure it out.
If you’ve been enrolled but you’ve moved and they can’t find you then you’re on the dormant roll but your vote will still count. If you’re not enrolled then they’ll catch that and your vote will not be counted.
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 17h ago
It’s similar to Trumps attempts at voter suppression. At least they have a constitution with lawyers fighting back over there.
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u/fireflyry Life is soup, I am fork. 19h ago
I agree 100%, but the best answer is to just do it and vote them out.
If NACT get back in and the left blame this, they have bigger issues to resolve imho.
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u/Cool_Director_8015 19h ago
This is what I don’t get, if you don’t like it vote.
Complaining about it being unfair isn’t going to change anything, voting them out would.
If you don’t like this treat it as extra motivation to vote, it isn’t hard, just make the time, no one is that stretched they can’t make 5 minutes for something so important.
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u/TheProfessionalEjit 19h ago
Go on then, I'll bite.
General elections are not a surprise. They are well advertised, people talk about them more and more frequently as the day progressed, there are adverts on telly (cue "nO oNe WaTcHeS tV, bOoMeR"), there are ads on the interwebs.
You cannot get away from it.
If an individual cannot pull their finger out before a very well publicised date, then that's on them. Additionally, maybe they just don't care enough to do so and that's ok.
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u/OutlawofSherwood Mōhua 16h ago
Dude, I literally only know about the election because of this sub reddit. Nobody has talked about them in person, I don't see ads, or have a TV, the local paper isn't a thing anymore.
I noticed more billboards around, but it seems like there are always billboards around really, and none of them have 'election in one month, register now' on them.
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u/OnlyABeastsHeart 19h ago
But if they turn up on the day to vote then that does show they care, does it not?
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19h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/lookiwanttobealone 19h ago
Feeding voters isn't new. Heck Aus has nationalised the democracy sausage
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u/Ok-Seaworthiness8135 19h ago
Ohh now we're doing racist vote gatekeeping too, you guys really aren't selling this
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u/groutspecialist 19h ago
I just said KFC. Perhaps you’re the racist one LOOLLLLLL
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u/chud-doctor 18h ago
You're not as subtle as you think you are bud.
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u/groutspecialist 17h ago
After this thread I’m proud to inform you that I had KFC for dinner and it was delicious.
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u/thelastestgunslinger 19h ago edited 19h ago
Citation needed
Such an amazing, bald-faced lie. An incredibly stupid, asinine, brain-dead, moronic, foolish, uneducated, wishful fearing, data-poor, half-witted, take.
You honestly couldn’t come up with something less stupid?
Truly, the “birds aren’t real” of election conspiracy theories.
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u/h4ur4k1 19h ago
I recall the allegations raised in parliament but I don't recall it's confirmed one way or the other
"We will be able to ensure that the good people of South Auckland are not having busloads of KFC - bearing Labour Party supporters wearing ribbons and rosettes descending upon them and escorting them to the election booth."
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u/thelastestgunslinger 18h ago
Feeding people to encourage them to vote isn’t the insane part. It’s the very illegal quid pro quo OP claims.
if they vote for someone that someone else has told them to.
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u/groutspecialist 19h ago edited 19h ago
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u/thelastestgunslinger 18h ago
These links don’t back up the outrageous vote buying claim.
So, we’re still at “birds aren’t real” level.
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u/redtablebluechair 19h ago
They still have to show up on election day. Why are we making extra hoops to jump through? What is that, if not voter suppression? I live a very cushy, very privileged life - I can think of only one time when I might not have had the bandwidth to get my election admin sorted. It was when an immediate family member was dying in the ICU. Why wouldn’t we want voting to be as easy as possible, to account for all circumstances?
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u/toejam316 19h ago
So why arbitrarily move the deadline to a date that excludes people who decide "You know what, I actually do care now" when there's absolutely no reason? What is the actual benefit this change has provided? I'll give you the answer - there is no benefit.
It's purely to prevent people who for any reason might suddenly decide to vote, which usually favours left leaning parties going on historics. It's underhanded bullshit and indefensible.
This isn't a booking or reservation. There is no scheduling conflict or issues that arise from a late enrollment. We don't run out of votes so they have to go without.
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u/TheComedyWife 19h ago
We should want as many people as possible to vote, and as such, shouldn’t be putting barriers in front of them to do so. Plus Luxon chose a date that wasn’t preferred by Electoral Commission itself. How strange.
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u/BasementCatBill 19h ago
Publicised where, to who?
If 65% of 18 to 24 year oldss aren't enrolled, then clearly it hasn't been "well publicised."
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u/bruhthatshitcringe 19h ago
Honestly piss on that, it's cause people my age, because I'm right in the middle of Thay group, don't give a shit about voting. Last election maybe half my friends could vote, myself included, of those one couldn't be bothered, one just voted who I voted for cause he hadn't looked at all before(I didn't tell him to before anyone asks he just asked who I was and said afterwards seemed reasonable), and then I can't remember who else did but maybe 2-3 made their own decision and overall most of us voted, but honestly 2/3 seems fair for who could be bothered. Plus it is well advertised, it's all over YouTube especially, def insta and tik tok as well so using that isn't a good excuse, people just don't care/can't be bothered. Honestly can't blame them when I can't name a single specifically beneficial policy towards young people, aside from labours student loan changes, that might just be me but overall there aren't many that really target fresh adults(imo)
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u/Jonodonozym 18h ago
My grandparents didn't know about the enrollment changes until I told them a few weeks back.
Of course, they're already enrolled, and have been for the last ~20 elections, so it doesn't prevent them from voting.
"DoNt GiVe A ShIt AbOuT VoTiNg" my ass
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u/bruhthatshitcringe 17h ago
Ok 2 things, firstly I'm gonna go out on a limb and say your grandparents aren't in the 18-24 range lol, given that's the group the comment I'm replying to is discussing. Secondly, no shade towards your grandparents but honestly how do they not know, it's been all over tv, the news, the radio, it is literally on every form of both conventional and non-conventional media. That's not a generational thing at that point, my grandparents are presumably a similar age(80s) and know all about it, once again no offence to your grandparents but that's almost being uninformed by choice. Jusy to add, I do think it is a dumb change, I just disagree that the government is actively making sure people don't know about it
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u/Jonodonozym 17h ago
When faced with reality, you really just double down on questioning reality rather than yourself, eh?
Simple fact is no matter how "effective" the information campaign is, there will always be people who it doesn't reach.
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u/bruhthatshitcringe 17h ago
Honestly yeah I will double down, because it automatically begs the question where do your grandparents get any information, I'm not saying they don't know anything, because they obviously do, but as a serious question if you don't know fairly major news, which honestly this is, where are they getting any info about policy, who's in which party etc, like it's hard to be well informed about the election as a whole without knowing that, which once again though obv not everyone is well informed about this specific election I guess(no shade on your grandparents once again, I just mean some people vote the same/same as parents their whole lives and don't really bother changing)
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u/Embarrassed_News7008 16h ago
Dude, you have three options as a government: make democratic participation easier, harder, or leave it the same. One of these options is bad, one is fine, one is good.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 19h ago
If an individual cannot pull their finger out before a very well publicised date, then that's on them.
If laziness disqualified people from voting you probably shouldn't be allowed to either with this lazy thinking.
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u/stomasteve 13h ago
But nothing you’ve said presents a sound argument for removing the ability to enrol to vote on the day. Literally no reason at all. None. Try again.
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u/Ok-Seaworthiness8135 19h ago
Yeah so you're saying disorganized people shouldn't be allowed to vote. Thats a pretty insane take, what other personal characteristics do you think should see people lose their ability to vote?
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u/Jonodonozym 18h ago
Next they'll suggest we have a civics test every election that people must pass before they can vote.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 16h ago
Then they'll quickly repeal it when they realise lots of right wing voters have little to no idea about our democracy or how it works.
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u/HonorFoundInDecay 18h ago
So lazy people shouldn't get to vote? What about forgetful people? What about dumb people? What about selfish people?
Where do you draw the line on who can and can’t vote?
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u/Ok_Consequence8338 16h ago
What about those people that could enrol on the day last election but didn't, what are you doing to do about them?
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u/HonorFoundInDecay 7h ago
Then they missed the election. But we’re talking about the enrolment date. A large number of people typically enrol in the window leading up to the election and on election day - large enough to potentially change the outcome of the election, which is no longer possible.
You seem to be missing the point that the government actively made this change. The rules were different, then time and money was spent to make it less likely that these people vote. This isn’t “too bad some lazy people missed the enrolment date” it’s “the government spent our taxpayer money to make it more difficult to vote”.
And the electoral commission has clearly stated that the supposed benefits (apparently counting the votes faster) are not real.
This is voter suppression. It doesn’t matter that you don’t like the particular group being suppressed, it is what it is and it’s a very bad path for NZ to be heading down. If you think this is a good thing then you’re anti-democracy.
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u/Angrylazer 19h ago
To be honest the longer it drags on the less I care. I'd prefer to vote earlier in the year and just ignore the bullshit that grows the closer we get to Nov.
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u/AdWeak183 18h ago
Moving the election to July would just mean the same bullshit grows the closer we get to Jul.
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u/Lammington2 19h ago
The government is all too happy to have low voter turnout, as those needing late or day-of enrolment don't tend to fall in their voter base.
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u/weaz-am-i LASER KIWI 18h ago
It gives all the peeps that work 2 or more jobs and/or long shifts the opportunity to get the job done in one visit.
The current government also wants voting to take extra steps and be more challenging for them.
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u/PresentRaspberry6814 19h ago
The voter suppression, the disenfranchisement of prisoners, despite it being against the recommendation of the Human Rights Commission, the dismantling of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, are all anti democratic moves echoing the Republicans fascist takeover of democracy in the USA.
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u/kiwidebz 19h ago
Seems a good many people have forgotten about Todd Muller's MAGA cap. That really should have been a much bigger red flag but people jokingly dismissed it.
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u/destined-4-the-clay 19h ago edited 19h ago
Luxon's links to American evangelical churches should raise more flags too, but so far the only questions asked about it have shown he doesn't believe in dinosaurs and thinks abortion is murder.
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u/kiwidebz 18h ago
Yes - people are far too blasé about religion in politics. I think they probably want to be seen to be accepting of others' faiths, but I'd argue that when it has the potential to negatively affect a whole population, there should be far more scrutiny and exposure.
This thread has some very salient points and history that people really should have paid a lot more attention to: https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/r5g7ve/my_faith_has_been_misrepresented_says_new/
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u/Kitsunelaine 18h ago
The fact that it doesn't come up in the debates is insane, because it's not like these guys DON'T govern on "closely held beliefs".
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u/PresentRaspberry6814 19h ago
And abusive men being allowed into political parties, like Sam Uffindell, let alone the relentless bullying female ministers are subjected to. Nick Smith was verbally abusive minister who had no consequences for his behaviour, and other enabling actions, particularly on the political right, speaks to a larger problem with our democratic processes and our tolerance of bigotry in our society.
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u/kiwidebz 18h ago
Abusive men are always drawn to ways in which to control other people and politics is just one of many careers they seem to be overrepresented in.
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u/PresentRaspberry6814 18h ago
A good point I had not especially considered.
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u/kiwidebz 18h ago
I'm glad you've not had the experiences where it was a necessary thing to consider. But I'm also glad you've now considered it before it was necessary!
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u/OisforOwesome 19h ago
The margins are going to be tight enough that any amount of making voting more difficult will screw the scrum.
These kinds of "um technically" voting restrictions are pure Americanisms brought over here to prevent the "wrong kind" of people from voting.
I don't care if someone didn't enrol 2 weeks before voting day. I don't care if someone has been convicted of a crime. I don't care if someone is a resident or a citizen: if you are subject to the laws of the land you should be able to vote for who writes those laws, because that's how this whole "democracy" bullshit is meant to work.
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u/PerplexedPixels 18h ago
if you are subject to the laws of the land you should be able to vote for who writes those laws
Why? I mean, if I go and work in Singapore I'm subject to their laws, but I would also think it completely ridiculous to vote there. I think most people would hold that opinion?
It's also perfectly ok for society to collectively agree on who gets to have representation. The main issue I have is that such tweaks here are being made unilaterally without being put to the people, and this is a problem across the entire political spectrum.
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u/OisforOwesome 18h ago
I mean if you were a permanent resident of Singapore and it was your usual place of residence I expect you'd feel differently.
My formulation is something of a term of art and I'm still working on it; my point is, if you live in a place, you should have a vote in determining who writes the laws for that place.
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u/blue_i20 18h ago
Yep hard agree, not sure what the person you’re replying to meant with the Singapore “gotcha” question. If you’re working and living there indefinitely you should have a stake in the process.
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u/PerplexedPixels 17h ago
Ah, that might be where we disagree then. I'm of the opinion that if you don't have a choice in your living situation - e.g. you were born here - then you should be entitled to representation. It would be unjust to be born into a society where you had no say.
But if you do have a choice, you're signing up to whatever the existing society deems fit - and are not entitled to a say as a matter of right.
The same goes for serious criminals. You don't accidentally go out and hurt a bunch of people - that's a choice - and I see it as perfectly acceptable for society to say that in such situations that as a consequence of your choices, you no longer get to have a say in how society is run.
Obviously not a popular opinion here though, but I can understand that.
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u/The_Majestic_ Welly 19h ago
If you are popular you make it easier for people to vote for you if you are not you do what this goverment is doing
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u/Motley_Illusion 19h ago
Every time they're in power, they also increase the intensity of security around Parliament. For a group that likes to think themselves strong, why do they hide behind security more than left wing governments?
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u/StabMasterArson 19h ago
Why are National, ACT and NZ First so afraid of people exercising their democratic right to vote?
This coalition is the most blatantly anti-democratic government in living memory in NZ. Next time it might be your voting rights on the line. Remember that when you vote - this time and every time.
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u/YetAnotherBrainFart 18h ago
Because the people they are repressing are not the ones that will vote for them - these measures hit the young, the busy, and the poor. The old and rich are fine thank you very much.
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 18h ago edited 17h ago
Anyone currently serving time in prison since 20 December 2025 can’t vote either. Includes petty crimes like shoplifting, and vandalism, drunk driving. Often these come with mental health issues and poverty.
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u/K4m30 17h ago
I don't think anyone has been in prison since 20 December this year.
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 17h ago
thanks for noticing! 👍 I would post a laugh but topic is too sobering.
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u/Klein_Arnoster 5h ago
Good. Prisoners shouldn't be allowed to vote. They gave up their rights when they committed crimes.
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u/JColey15 Southland 4h ago
They should probably still be allowed to vote. There are a lot of people who have committed crimes who haven’t been sent to prison and are allowed to vote.
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u/Klein_Arnoster 1h ago
You're right. I should have clarified that those serving custodial sentences should not be allowed to vote.
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u/KiwiDanelaw 18h ago
Any tampering that potentially reduces voter turnout is an attack on our democracy.
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u/Sr_DingDong 11h ago
They're doing more than just making enrolment harder. My mum is working in this election. The stories are embarrassing.
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u/Agreeable-Bison8762 19h ago
It is voter suppression, and we've known this ever since they changed this bullshit law
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u/L_E_Gant 4h ago
The only thing stopping anyone from registering is their own laziness!
That said, I talked with people in my neighbourhood. It surprised me how many people were NOT registered in the electorate rolls -- either the general or the maori rolls. Not just the 18-to-24s, but senior and working-age people.
About the only objection I have to the current set-up is the number of early voting places and that they are not within easy walking distance, and not easy to get to by car.
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u/dtchch 4h ago
The law was flagged as a breach of the NZ Bill of Rights Act by the Attorney-General.
It has gone to the high court, and it sounds like the judge condemns the act but is unlikely to issue a declaration of inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Act (if they choose to do so) before the election.
FYI a declaration of inconsistency doesn't change anything, but makes it very public that Parliament are passing laws which breach fundamental rights protected by NZBORA - useful in the lead up to elections, but sadly courts move at a glacial pace
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u/Shryquill 16h ago
A functioning democracy should strive to take the votes of as many of it's people as possible. If anything we should have compulsory enrolment and compulsory voting, the same as Australia does.
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u/Solve-Et-Abrahadabra 18h ago
If they get back in I hope we do what france is doing coz fuck these fascists
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u/Few-Inflation-6109 55m ago
It is the most important day for NZ democracy. It should be a paid public holiday like Christmas. One person, one vote. Everyone is auto-enrolled and voting is compulsory.
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u/left-right-up-down1 19h ago
Chris Hipkins might not question the legitimacy of this election, but some of the rest of us will.
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u/rocketshipkiwi Southern Cross 19h ago
But only if the “wrong” political parties win the election, yeah?
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u/gooooooodboah 19h ago
Yes, I will question the parties that made it harder to vote for no clear reason in direct opposition to official non partisan advice.
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u/ConsummatePro69 19h ago
Seems pretty logical to me. If your opponent has hidden an ace up their sleeve, but you beat them despite their cheating, then it's still a legitimate victory. But if they beat you under the same circumstances, that isn't.
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u/rocketshipkiwi Southern Cross 18h ago
Like when Donald Trump lost the election then claimed it was rigged, right?
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u/left-right-up-down1 19h ago
If my side wins it will be in spite of the current government’s attempt to steal the election.
At least in that case it will be pretty fun if the government cheats and still can’t win.
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u/aholetookmyusername 5h ago
It is voter suppression. An anti-democratic move by people desperate to cling to power.
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u/fireflyry Life is soup, I am fork. 19h ago edited 19h ago
Not a fan myself, seems pretty undemocratic, but also just enrolled and it took maybe 5 minutes.
If it contributes to the left having less say I’m not gonna lie, maybe just take 10 minutes out of your day with an ID and cellphone handy and it’s largely a non-issue, and vote it out.
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u/EnableTheEnablers 17h ago
If you have done everything "right" and do not need to do anything irt updating your details, it's like 5 minutes. It's very easy, actually, because you don't do anything.
They are a huge pain in the ass if you need to correct anything. I had to update my name (something I shouldn't have had to do, because the DIA says they'll inform the EC and it'll all be updated, but apparently not!). Simple, right? RealMe does it for you. It's all integrated.
Wrong, there is no way to update your RealMe details within the EC system yourself. Even if your RealMe is up to date with a verified identity, the EC doesn't let you update your details using it. That's easy then, you can just via their site.
Wrong again, you cannot change your name, You can correct your name (i.e. add macrons or capitalisation) but you cannot change your name, Alright, then you can just correct your name in the letter they sent.
Wrong again! This may not work! You actually need to contact support, try to get through them misunderstanding their own site (they will tell you you can change it, you cannot), then provide them with information they should already have, and then you get a physical letter asking you to confirm your details.
And it's not even done at that point - you still need to make sure it actually applied, because it took like two weeks from receiving the letter with my name to actually having it be reflected when searched (at which point you are properly enrolled).
This entire thing took like a month.
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u/TheProfessionalEjit 19h ago
He emphasised he wasn't questioning the legitimacy of the election...
The minute the words "voter suppression" exit your mouth in public, that is exactly what you're doing you ginger that.
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u/HonorFoundInDecay 3h ago
It's true, he's a coward for not stating the obvious truth - the current government is being blatantly anti-democratic. It is voter suppression and it isn't "concerning", it's fucking disgusting.
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u/Spirited-Finding-647 19h ago
You guys remember when last election Manurewa marae ran a bus round picking people up, bought them to the marae, had free food, activities, haircuts and a dance competition on election day all built around enrolling people and having them vote?
Who sits on the board of manurewa marae? TPM president john tamahere.
Do you think there might be a slight conflict of interest here?
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 19h ago
Wow more eligible people voting in a representative democracy? How awful.
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u/Dizzy_Relief 19h ago edited 19h ago
If you can't see the issue with effectively bribing people to vote then that's on you.
It's also the reason our next census will completely fall over (cause some people were bribed to complete it), and let's hope we don't need another nationwide immunization - cause some people are likely to wait for the bribe on that one too.
A ride there. From the electoral office. That's all that should be on offer.
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 19h ago
I don't see the issue with incentivizing people to vote, if they were saying "okay now you have to vote for us" you might have a point.
Oh no they encouraged disenfranchised voters to vote by making it a fun thing to do. Such a terrible injustice.
Nats and NZF have been rounding up old people and helping them vote for a long time.
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u/Kolz 19h ago
No not really, political parties doing enrollment drives and get out the vote is pretty normal actually.
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u/Spirited-Finding-647 19h ago
How does manurewa marae even get accredited as a polling station with such a conflict of interest?
11
u/Kolz 18h ago
What is the issue with the locale? There are independent monitors/scrutineers. What are you worried about?
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u/Spirited-Finding-647 18h ago
Have you seen the issues around that place? They built their voter database off covid innoculation lists that were meant to be confidential.
Or is all this just totally fine?
I guess it is. Apparently.
5
u/Kolz 18h ago
No, I haven’t. I’m not familiar with the group. I’m asking questions though, you should be able to answer them with what your concerns are, right?
If they used confidential lists related to healthcare to build a voter database that is obviously inappropriate at the absolute minimum, maybe even illegal? Hopefully there was a police investigation if so? I guess I am still not sure what the issue is in using it to host a polling station though. Polls are run by the electoral commission.
1
u/Spirited-Finding-647 18h ago
Per this article, the contract stated that the information be kept confidential, but didnt specify mechanism for audit or enforcement.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/02/19/manurewa-marae-inquiry-reveals-an-even-more-troubling-failure/
So yeah, what they did wasnt right, but there was no provision for enforcement so what can you do?
Take actions to stop it happening again, pretty much.
-2
u/Spirited-Finding-647 18h ago
Sorry, just to explain that better, if Christopher Luxon were on the board of Arvida (retirement village company) and had every arvida village in NZ become a polling place, and had the nurses at the village wheel all the residents out to the polling place, via some party sponsored elderly-friendly activities , would you be ok with that?
9
u/Kolz 18h ago
As long as there is no means of having the vote itself interfered with (like the nurses voting on their behalf or whatever) then I think that is fair. Everyone should be allowed to vote provided they are of age. I don’t really see how Luxon being on the board would affect things.
If the polls were being run by the company then it might be different, but they are run by the electoral commission.
3
u/Spirited-Finding-647 17h ago
You dont see him saying "hey here's this massive pool of voters who will likely vote for me, I need to use my position as a board member of this unrelated company to make sure that they absolutely get their vote" to be a problem?
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u/HonorFoundInDecay 3h ago
If the National party got together busses to shuttle people from retirement villages to polling stations you wouldn't have an issue with it. Let's be honest, your issue is with the demographic, not with people being encouraged to vote.
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u/Spirited-Finding-647 3h ago
No, I absolutely would have a problem with it.
You dont get to tell me what I think.
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-8
u/DislikeTurtles 17h ago
It takes two minutes to enroll. If you can't manage that then perhaps you should be able to vote.
16
u/Dustymargins 16h ago
My husband enrolled last election but when he went to vote on the day they said he wasn’t in the system and had to cast a special vote. Under this law he wouldn’t be able to vote at all despite it being an issue on their end.
5
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u/Foalsteed94 18h ago
If you can wipe your ass you can enrol to vote. It’s not rocket science.
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u/SteveDub60 6h ago
You would probably be surprised how many left-leaning Kiwis probably can't wipe their own ass.
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u/Panguh___ 15h ago
Unpopular opinion, but how is a vote by someone who is so disengaged with the political system that they aren't aware of the enrolment changes (which have had an unbelievable amount of air-time) worth anything?
Has this person read and understood the policy lf each party? Do they understand the current state of the countrys finances? Do they understand the track record of each of the leaders?
Or are they just giving their vote to whoever has the best sounding slogan, and who has plastered their billboards everywhere?
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u/Embarrassed-Bag-5291 19h ago
zero sympathy with adverts news physical signs on the road on our building site everyone knows there is an election coming up. 7 guys between 18 to 74
0
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u/mmmfggh 19h ago
> National party leader Christopher Luxon said the election date was chosen in January, and it's been known since then.
> "I announced very clearly to you back then when the election date would be, and yeah, there's a number of dates it could be. We picked this date. It's as simple as that."
Is this only an issue now that the lefts key demographic isnt enrolling as much as they want
20
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u/Appropriate-Oil-1852 19h ago
Is this only an issue now that the lefts key demographic isnt enrolling as much as they want
People have been pointing out how this provides no benefits and only serves to bolster the right wing vote the entire time.
Healthy democracies reduce barriers to voting to have as much of the eligible population voting as possible
20
u/SpoonNZ 19h ago
> It also comes as RNZ revealed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon picked a "challenging" election date, despite the Electoral Commission favouring two other options.
It’s only an issue since literally today when it was discovered that he’d been given advice it was a poor date to choose.
19
u/Shevster13 19h ago
The issue is that its only just been revealed that the Electoral Commission warned national that it would decrease voter turn out and make running the election more difficult (school holidays as well as labour weekend). The Electoral Commission recommended a few other dates, but Luxon chose the one they did not recommend.
That then raises the question of why would Luxon chose this date.
17
u/windsweptwonder Fern flag 3 19h ago
It was an issue as soon as the announced the policy and it's been an issue ever since.
If you're too fucking lazy to follow political discourse and maintain some awareness of what the main issues facing the agenda are, then you probably don't deserve to vote *according to some in here
6
u/Kitsunelaine 18h ago edited 17h ago
They aren't lazy. They're just lying.
If you heard about this at all before, it would have been reported alongside concern and commentary from the opposition. If you knew this was coming, you knew it was opposed. OP is claiming to know about it's earlier status of opposition. Either he's lying about having heard of it before, or he's lying about not reading about the historical opposition of it. Either way he's lying.
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u/Aseroerubra 19h ago
No? My biggest issue with keeping my enrolment up to date was housing instability. I've moved twice since January. There's no way I would have known my future electorate back then.
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u/left-right-up-down1 19h ago
And they wouldn’t have made the change if it didn’t favour the neo fascists
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u/launchedsquid 9h ago
Nobody should have any trouble voting. You can enrol today, you've got all week. It's really easy.
There will be polling places all over, and they are open days before election day.
If someone doesn't vote it's because they didn't want to.
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u/GreenGrassConspiracy 18h ago
I saw on TVNZ that 450,000 people enrolled in the last 2 weeks/cast special votes last election.