Māori voters: Deadline to change rolls for October elections is July 10

Māori voters have until July 10 if they wish to change electoral rolls which allows them to vote in either the General Ward or the Māori Ward for the Gisborne District Council election being held on October 11.

Māori voters who wish to change electoral rolls before the local body elections in October have until July 10 to make their choice.

Voters enrolled in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti will be able to vote in Gisborne District Council’s Tairāwhiti Māori Ward (five councillors) while voters registered in the East Coast electorate will vote in the Tairāwhiti General Ward (eight councillors).

According to the Electorate Commission, there were 76,572 registered voters as of May 31 out of an estimated eligible population of 86,853.

The enrolled voters consist of 51,163 voters on the East Coast roll and 25,409 Tairāwhiti residents on the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti roll.

“You can’t switch rolls in the three months before the local elections on October 11,” the Electoral Commission’s chief Māori adviser Hone Matthews said.

“Make sure you’re enrolled so you can have your say.”

Voters can go online to Go to vote.nz to enrol, check their details, or change their roll type."

Gisborne District Council voters (in both wards) will also vote in a binding referendum on whether to retain or abolish the Māori ward.

This year marks 50 years of the Māori Electoral Option, which is the choice for Māori between the Māori roll and the General roll.

The Electoral Amendment Act passed in 1975 defined Māori as a person of New Zealand Māori descent and means anyone who is Māori has the option of enrolling to vote on either roll.

“General roll or Māori roll, it’s your choice,” said Matthews. “He mana tō te kōwhiri – your choice has mana.”

The election/referendum is being held by postal ballot and voting papers, sent out between September 9 and 22, must be received by noon on October 11.