Indian Newslink Sept 15 2017 Digital Edition

02
Electionlink
SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
General Election 2017
Sixth and Final Part
Vote now or on September 23 but vote you must
Electoral Commission
Voting has started in the 2017
General Election, with
advance voting places now
open around the country.
Anyone who is ready to vote can cast
an advance vote between September
11 and September 22 at one of the 480
advance voting places right around
New Zealand. Voters can also enrol,
check or update their enrolment details
at an advance voting place.
The last day for voting is election
day on Saturday, September 23. This
is traditionally the day most people
vote. Approximately 2400 voting
places will be open on election day in
locations where people work and live,
for example, schools, shopping malls
and community halls.
List of locations
The Electoral Commission’s Chief
Electoral Officer Alicia Wright said that
there is a list of voting place locations
and opening hours at www.elections.
org.nz so that voters can plan where and
when to vote.
“My suggestion is to make going
to vote a family occasion. Make sure
that your friends and family can get to
a voting place, and take your children
with you so they see what voting is
like,” she said.
“We want everyone who is eligible
to vote in this election so they can
have their say on the decisions made in
Parliament,” Ms Wright said.
Easy to enrol
People can enrol to vote right up until
Alicia Wright
Friday, September 22, but they cannot
enrol on election day itself.
“One of the easiest ways to enrol at
this stage is to do it on the spot at an
advance voting place,” Ms Wright said.
“You can also download an enrolment
form from www.elections.org.nz,
fill it in and upload it to the website, or
pick up a form from a PostShop and get
it back to us as quick as you can.”
To be eligible to enrol and vote, a
person must be 18 years old or older,
a New Zealand citizen or permanent
resident, and have lived in New
Zealand continuously for one year or
more at some time in their life.
Voters already on the electoral roll
should receive an EasyVote pack in
the mail before the election with all the
information they need to vote. It will
include lists of parties and candidates,
locations of voting places, and an
EasyVote card which makes voting
quicker.
EasyVote Card
When voters go into a voting place,
they should give their EasyVote card
to the issuing officer to help find their
name on the electoral roll. They will
be asked to confirm their name before
being given a ballot paper.
If people do not have an EasyVote
card, they can still vote, and will just
need to tell the person their full name
and address. No identification is
needed when people go to vote.
Once voters have been given their
ballot paper, they can go behind a
private voting screen and mark their
ballot paper.
“There will be a list of political
parties on one side of the ballot
paper, and on the other side, a list of
people standing for election as the local
Member of Parliament.
“Place a tick by the name of the
political party of your choice and a
tick by the name of the candidate you
would most like to represent your
local area. These are your party and
electorate votes.
“Afterwards, put your voting paper
in the ballot box – it is that easy,” Ms
Wright said.
Votes counting
The votes will be counted once
voting closes at 7 pm on September
23 and the preliminary election results
will be released. The votes are counted
again over a two-week period before
the official results are declared.
Under the New Zealand voting
system MMP, coalitions are often
needed to form a government, and
negotiations will take place after the
election between the parties that make
it into Parliament.
More information on voting under
MMP can be found at www.elections.
org.nz in many languages.
“Remember, it only takes most
people five minutes to cast their vote.
Your vote is important, so make sure
you take the time to have your say this
election,” Ms Wright said.
Brought to you by Electoral Commission,
Wellington.
Bill English and National are building on
the successes of the last few years with
a clear plan to keep delivering more
for all New Zealanders and ensure
everyone has the chance to succeed.
We need to maintain our focus on growing the economy so we can continue to create
more jobs and higher incomes and provide support for hard-working families.
We will continue to invest heavily in infrastructure for our growing country and
continue record investments in public services that are delivering 10% more police
staff across New Zealand, a much-needed pay rise for 50,000 care and support
workers, more life-saving drugs and bowel screening, more classrooms
and more special needs support.
Sticking to National’s strong, consistent economic plan
is the only way we can do more for you and your family.
Authorised by G Hamilton, 41 Pipitea St, Wellington.