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Local Electoral Act 2001

Offences

122: Interfering with or influencing voters

You could also call this:

"Don't try to influence how someone votes, it's against the law."

Illustration for Local Electoral Act 2001

You can get in trouble with the law if you interfere with someone who is about to vote. This means you cannot try to influence or advise them on how to vote. You also cannot print or share fake voting documents that try to tell people how to vote. You are not allowed to print or share instructions on how to mark your voting paper if they are different from the official instructions. However, you can print and share a card or leaflet with the names of candidates and the jobs they are running for, as long as it does not say anything else. Some things are exempt from this rule, such as official statements made by the government or candidate profile statements. You can find more information about the law by looking at the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. If you break this rule, you could be fined up to $5,000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM94786.

Topics:
Government and voting > ElectionsCrime and justice > Criminal law
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121: Illegal nomination, etc, or

"Breaking the rules when nominating someone for an election"

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123: Offences in respect of official documents, or

"Breaking the rules about voting documents is against the law"

Part 7Offences

122Interfering with or influencing voters

  1. Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, who—

  2. interferes in any way with any person who is about to vote with the intention of influencing or advising that person as to how he or she should vote:
    1. prints, publishes, distributes, or delivers to any person (using any medium or means of communication) a document, paper, notice, or message, being or purporting to be in imitation of any voting document to be used at the election or poll that,—
      1. in the case of an election, includes the name of a candidate or candidates, together with any direction or indication as to the candidate or candidates for whom any person should vote:
        1. in the case of a poll, includes a statement or indication as to how any person should vote:
          1. in any way contains or suggests any such direction or indication or other matter likely to influence how any person votes:
          2. prints, publishes, or distributes any instruction on the method of marking the voting document that differs in any material way from the instructions required by this Act or any regulations made under this Act to accompany the voting document.

            1. Despite subsection (1)(b), it is not an offence under that subsection to print, publish, distribute, or deliver a card or leaflet (not being an imitation voting document) on which is printed—

            2. the names of all or any of the candidates and the elective offices for which they are candidates (with or without the name of the organisations or groups to which those candidates are affiliated, and including those who are independent); and
              1. nothing else.

                1. Nothing in this section applies to—

                2. any official statement or announcement made or exhibited under the authority of this Act or regulations made under this Act; or
                  1. any candidate profile statement, published, displayed, or distributed under the authority of this Act or regulations made under this Act.

                    Compare
                    • 1976 No 144 s 54
                    Notes
                    • Section 122(1): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).