Byelection deadline pushed out
Hartley said New Zealand Post had given assurances that all 9004 voting papers were now distributed. However, some voters had told the council that they were yet to receive their ballot papers.
While the final polling day had been scheduled for May 12, the district council had advised voters to send their postal ballots through by May 7, to be received before the deadline.
Motueka resident David Cotterill said that as of Monday, he and many others in his neighbourhood had still not received voting papers.
‘‘How can you have an election when you have no voting papers?
‘‘It’s not good enough to have an election going on during this lockdown situation – everyone’s focusing on not getting Covid and doing the right thing.’’
While Hartley was able to extend the polling deadline up to 14 days under section 73 of the Local Electoral Act, the Department of Internal Affairs had previously classified the byelection as an ‘‘essential service’’ and so it had to go ahead.
Hartley said she shared the frustrations of some voters about the process, but there had been no other legal avenues to pause the process or delay the distribution of voting papers.
‘‘The current electoral legislation did not anticipate a byelection happening during a pandemic.
‘‘It certainly would have been sensible to have paused or delayed the distribution of voting papers, if I’d been able to do so legally.’’
Motueka Community Board chairman Brent Maru said for a ‘‘fair democratic process’’ to be carried out, there should be an extension of the voting deadline by 28 days – after the Covid-19 alert level was reduced to level two.
Maru said as chairman of the community board he was looking forward to working with whoever was elected, but the process had become messy and undemocratic.
He said the situation was unfair for both candidates and voters, with little opportunity for voters to meet with candidates or get a solid grasp on what their policy positions were.
‘‘I’m not convinced every member of the public will be able to make an informed decision . . . and I don’t know how anyone could campaign properly in this environment.’’
A Department of Internal Affairs spokesperson said the department was responsible for the regulatory framework under which elections are conducted. However, only the electoral officer could extend the close of voting (up to 14 days at a time), if there were reasonable grounds to consider electors were denied a reasonable opportunity to cast a valid vote.
‘‘The department has been in touch with all electoral officers who are responsible for byelections currently under way to understand the challenges for carrying out byelections at present and the mitigation options that are being put in place,’’ the spokesperson said.
‘‘Legislative changes to provide more options for managing byelection timing during the Covid-19 response are currently being considered.’’
Completed voting papers should be posted up until Thursday, May 21, and thereafter may be taken to the council’s Motueka office and placed in the ballot box if the office is open, or in the after-hours box. If you have not received your voting papers, ring 03 543 8554 or email sandra.hartley@tasman.govt to arrange for a special voting document to be sent out to you.