The agreed changes to the bill to gain National’s support included a three-month exclusion leading up to a local body and general election when Māori would not be able to change rolls.
National argued allowing changes up to the election date could see people “tactically” switch electorates and influence outcomes.
This was on top of an exclusion in the original bill around byelections.
In a regulatory impact statement, Ministry of Justice officials said the option chosen was better than the status quo for increasing participation in democracy, but they preferred the original option, or the continuous ability to change rolls.
Under this option, Māori voters would be able to change rolls at any time, and up until polling day.
“This is the option we recommend because it is the most consistent with the objective of maximising participation in the electoral system,” officials said. Right up to an election was when voters were most engaged, they said.
If there were to be an exclusion period, officials said it should align with the closing of the rolls for Parliamentary and local elections, generally about a five-week period.
They argued three months was a “long exception period during peak voter engagement”, which was typically when people made requests to change rolls.
They also said the three-month option would be the most costly as it would require constant changes to the enrolment update campaigns.
On tactical vote switching, they said there was a “lack of evidence” and it only constituted a “theoretical possibility”.
“The concern around tactical voting relates to potential unintended consequences of new enrolment rules that have not yet been implemented,” officials wrote.
As it stands, Māori can only switch between the Māori and general electoral rolls once every five to six years during a four-month slot after the census, despite elections occurring every three years.
The last Māori Electoral Option was in 2018 and the next is due in 2024.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi and the Green Party justice spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman also had similar bills that included the continuous roll-switching option.
Waititi’s bill was shut down earlier this month and he criticised those who voted against it for supporting the Government’s “watered down” bill.
Waititi’s bill, which was supported by the Greens, would have also changed automatic enrolment from the general to Māori roll.
Ghahraman’s more wide-ranging bill, which also included lowering the voting age to 16, was voted down by Labour in September. Ghahraman said they believed Māori voters should be able to switch rolls at any time.
Ghahraman said the Government could have allowed roll switching in the period immediately before an election by amending Section 79 of the Electoral Act, which isn’t a reserved provision and so didn’t need a 75 per cent majority.
This would have achieved the same outcome as officials advised and wouldn’t have needed the support of National, she said.
“Labour made the choice to cave into National’s fear-mongering about Māori selecting rolls strategically. As a result, Māori will face unnecessary, technical barriers to voting.”
Justice Minister Kiri Allan said this issue had been discussed with the Green Party, and differed from the continuous option. It had a range of issues that could undermine “fairness in the electoral system” and was not simple or easy to implement, she said.
Allan said while the Government had preferred the continuous option the amendment ensured “unanimous support of all political parties in the House”.
This made it the first law that has been enacted that required the amendment of the reserve provisions of the Electoral Act in New Zealand’s history, she said.
The bill passed its second reading last week and is expected to have its third and final this week.
