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Referendums Framework Bill

Provisions relating to referendum - Counting of votes and declaration of votes

26: Declaration of official result of referendum

You could also call this:

"When the voting is finished, the Electoral Commission announces the official results of the referendum."

Illustration for Referendums Framework Bill

The Electoral Commission has to tell everyone the official result of the referendum. They do this by putting a notice in the Gazette. The notice must say how many valid votes each option got and how many informal votes were cast.

You will see the total number of valid votes for each question in the referendum. The notice will also show the total number of informal votes. This means votes that were not filled out correctly.

The Electoral Commission must publish the notice on or before a certain day. This day is the latest day for the return of the writ for the general election where the referendum was held. If there is more than one referendum, the results can be announced at different times, as long as it is within the allowed time period mentioned in subsection (3).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1028653.

Topics:
Government and voting > Elections
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25: Determination of results by Electoral Commission, or

"The Electoral Commission works out the referendum results from the votes counted by returning officers."

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27: Method of questioning referendum, or

"How to challenge a referendum result in court"

Part 2Provisions relating to referendum
Counting of votes and declaration of votes

26Declaration of official result of referendum

  1. The Electoral Commission must declare the result of the referendum by notice in the Gazette.

  2. The notice must give the following information in relation to the referendum:

  3. the total number of valid votes cast for each option in relation to the question or questions in the referendum voting paper; and
    1. the total number of informal votes cast.

      1. The notice must be published on or before the latest day for the return of the writ for the general election at which the referendum is held.

      2. If more than 1 referendum is held, the results of each referendum may be declared at different times (within the time period in subsection (3)).