General election arrangements in place if virus resurfaces

WELLINGTON: Planning for this year’s general election is stepping up after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed it will go ahead on September 19 if New Zealand is at alert level 2 or lower.

The Electoral Commission announced yesterday a range of measures will be put in place to help keep voters safe.

Advance voting would start on September 5, two days earlier than planned, to spread out voting and reduce congestion.

Chief electoral officer Alicia Wright said the safety measures would be based on advice from the Ministry of Health.

‘‘They include queue management and physical distancing, as well as the use of hand sanitiser and protective gear.’’

The number of advance voting places would be increased and where possible larger venues would be used to give voters more space.

Those at high risk from Covid19 would also be able to register for postal voting.

The commission was working on ‘‘takeaway voting’’ at resthomes and hospitals, where voting papers would be delivered and picked up.

Takeaway voting may also be used in prisons, or in person by the Electoral Commission’s mobile voting teams.

The Commission said planning for the election was based on meeting Alert Level 2 requirements.

Voting services could also be delivered to small clusters of up to 500 voters affected by local Alert Levels 3 or 4, to a maximum of 5000 voters nationwide, using takeaway voting.

If an outbreak was to occur in large areas of the county during the voting period, emergency powers are available to the chief electoral officer to delay election day voting by up to seven days at a time.

If the election date is changed, the commission would work towards the new date. — RNZ