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Electoral Act 1993

Registration of electors - Qualification of electors

78: Process for and effect of exercise of Māori option

You could also call this:

"How to choose the Māori electoral roll and what happens next"

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

You can choose to be on the Māori electoral roll by telling the Electoral Commission. You can do this in writing by filling out a form and sending it to them. You can also do it online or when you apply to be an elector.

If you send the form by post during an election period, it will be treated as if you sent it before the election started. The form must arrive at the Electoral Commission by noon on the fourth day after the election starts. It must also be postmarked or date-stamped before the election starts.

You can also send the form before the election period starts, but if you make a mistake, you have six days to fix it. If you are outside New Zealand or have a disability, you can ask someone to help you choose to be on the Māori electoral roll, and section 86 applies.

When you choose to be on the Māori electoral roll, it is like applying to be an elector, which is used for things like the electoral roll definition in section 3(1) and sections 89, 89A, 98, and 103.

An election period is when a general election, local government election, or by-election is happening, which is explained in section 78A(4), section 78B(4), and section 78C(6).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM308834.

Topics:
Government and voting > ElectionsMāori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi
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77: Exercise of Māori option, or

"Choosing which electoral roll to be on if you're Māori"

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Part 5Registration of electors
Qualification of electors

78Process for and effect of exercise of Māori option

  1. A person may exercise the Māori option by indicating their choice,—

  2. in writing, by completing and signing a form that the Electoral Commission has approved and returning it to the Electoral Commission:
    1. in an approved electronic medium, by providing the required information:
      1. in an application for registration as an elector.

        1. If a form or an application described in subsection (1)(a) or (c) is received by the Electoral Commission by post after the start of any election period and it complies with the requirements in subsection (3), that form or application is to be treated as having been received before the start of the election period and the elector must, if the form or application is otherwise in order, be treated as having exercised the Māori option.

        2. The requirements for a form or an application are the following:

        3. it must be received no later than noon on the fourth day after the start of an election period; and
          1. it must be postmarked or date-stamped before the start of an election period.

            1. If a form or an application described in subsection (1)(a) or (c) is received by the Electoral Commission by post before the start of any election period but that form or application does not comply with the requirements for signing and dating, the Electoral Commission may treat the notice as being in accordance with those requirements if the non-compliance is remedied not later than 6 days after the start of the election period.

            2. A person who is outside New Zealand or who has a physical or mental impairment may exercise the Māori option through a representative and section 86 applies with any necessary modifications.

            3. The exercise of the Māori option (if not made in an application under section 83) is to be treated as an application for registration as an elector for the purposes of—

            4. the definition of electoral roll in section 3(1); and
              1. sections 89, 89A, 98, and 103.

                1. In this section, election period means—

                2. a general election period (see section 78A(4)); or
                  1. a local government election period (see section 78B(4)); or
                    1. a by-election period (see section 78C(6)).

                      Notes
                      • Section 78: replaced, on , by section 6 of the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Act 2022 (2022 No 62).