Security of boxes queried

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has questioned the security of early votes after finding out some electoral officials have been taking ballot boxes home in the evening.

An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said the ballot boxes were generally stored in lockable rooms or cupboards at voting locations overnight. But the need for a secure storage place at advanced voting places had to be balanced with the ability to offer services in some public spaces.

Where there were no suitable storage facilities on site, electoral officials and advance voting place managers might take materials back to the electorate headquarters, the spokeswoman said. If none of those options were available, the commission allowed the electoral official to secure the voting materials at their home overnight.

‘‘This is a long-standing practice,’’ she said.

Yesterday, Ardern said she was surprised to hear some officials took their ballot boxes home.

‘‘It does leave some room for error ... and that may raise some questions in people’s minds. I would have thought there would have been a better way to secure our ballot boxes.’’

Bill English would not comment. ‘‘[The commission] operate completely independently ... It’s entirely up to them.’’

The commission said all ballot boxes were sealed throughout the voting period.