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Electoral Act 1993

Election petitions - Trial of election petition

241: Irregularities not to invalidate election

You could also call this:

"Mistakes during an election don't always make it invalid"

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

If you are wondering what happens when something goes wrong during an election, the law says an election will not be made invalid because of certain mistakes. You might be thinking about things like missing deadlines or filling out forms incorrectly. The law also considers problems with appointing officials or mistakes they make. The court will look at whether the election followed the law closely enough and if the mistakes made a difference in the result. If the court is satisfied that the election was fair and the mistakes did not change the outcome, the election will still be valid.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM310444.

Topics:
Government and voting > Elections
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Part 8Election petitions
Trial of election petition

241Irregularities not to invalidate election

  1. No election shall be declared invalid by reason of—

  2. any failure to comply with the times prescribed for doing any act; or
    1. any omission or irregularity in filling out any form prescribed by this Act or by regulations made thereunder; or
      1. any want or defect in the appointment of any official or scrutineer; or
        1. any absence of, or mistake or omission or breach of duty by, any official, whether before, during, or after the polling—
            1. if the court is satisfied that the election was so conducted as to be substantially in compliance with the law as to elections, and that the failure, omission, irregularity, want, defect, absence, mistake, or breach did not affect the result of the election.