New Zealand has an electoral system that voters can trust. There are many checks and balances to make sure parliamentary elections are fair and the results are accurate.
In this article
- There are many eyes on the election
- What's to stop a person voting twice?
- How do I know that votes aren't tampered with?
- Is it legal for voting place staff to wear party rosettes?
There are many eyes on the election
Many people are involved in elections to observe voting, the counting of votes and the recording of results. They include Electoral Commission staff employed from the local community, scrutineers, and Justices of the Peace.
For more information see Election Integrity on elections.nz.
What’s to stop a person voting twice?
After the election, all electoral rolls are consolidated into a master roll for each electorate. If a person’s name is ruled out more than once an investigation is conducted and if the person is found to have voted twice (or more), both (or all) of their votes are extracted and are not counted, and the matter is referred to the Chief Electoral Officer to determine whether it should be followed up by the Police.
How do I know that votes aren’t tampered with?
All ballot boxes are sealed and ballot papers tracked throughout the voting period.
Is it legal for voting place staff to wear party rosettes?
Scrutineers are not staff and represent candidates. They are in the voting place to observe the issuing of votes but cannot talk to voters. They are legally allowed to wear party rosettes.
Electoral officials employed by the Electoral Commission to work in the voting place are not allowed to wear party rosettes. Most of these staff will be wearing orange vests.