Electoral Act 1993

Registration of electors - Qualification of electors

78B: Māori option may not be exercised in local government election period

You could also call this:

"You can't change your Māori electoral roll during local council elections."

If you are Māori and want to change the type of electoral district you vote in, there are certain times when you cannot do this. You cannot make this change during a local government election period if you are already registered to vote or if you are on a dormant roll and want to register to vote.

The local government election period is the three months before polling day for a local election, as stated in section 10(2) of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

If you try to make this change during this time, the Electoral Commission will not be able to process your request, even if you have already given them advice under section 77(3) or applied under section 83.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS829458.

Topics:

Government and voting > ElectionsMāori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi

78A: Māori option may not be exercised in general election period, or

"You can't change which type of voting area you're in during a general election time."

78C: Māori option may not be exercised in by-election period, or

"You can't change to a Māori voting area during a special election period if you want to vote in it."

Part 5Registration of electors
Qualification of electors

78BMāori option may not be exercised in local government election period

The following persons may not exercise the Māori option during a local government election period:
a Māori who is registered as an elector of an electoral district:
a Māori who is named on a dormant roll and applies for registration as an elector of an electoral district.

To avoid doubt, subsection (1) relates to changing the type of district in which the person is entitled to vote only and does not otherwise affect any other section in this Act relating to the registration of electors.
The Electoral Commission must not give effect to either of the following during a local government election period:
any advice received under section 77(3) by a registered elector; or
if processing an application under section 83 by a Māori person named on a dormant roll, the choice made by the person when exercising the Māori option in that application if it would register them as an elector for a different type of district from that for which they were previously registered.

In this section, local government election period means a period that is 3 months before polling day for an election held under section 10(2) of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

Notes

Section 78B: inserted, on 31 March 2023, by section 6 of the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Act 2022 (2022 No 62).