Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said people need to get organised for elections. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The government's proposed electoral law changes clash with the constitutional rights of New Zealanders, the Attorney-General has reported.
The report by Judith Collins, said proposals under the Electoral Amendment Bill, including a ban on prisoner voting and same-day voting restrictions, were inconsistent with people's rights.
Last week the government announced legislation to overhaul electoral laws it said had become "unsustainable".
The government agreed to close enrolment before advance voting begins, with people needing to enrol or update their details by midnight on the Sunday before advance voting starts on the Monday morning (in other words, 13 days before election day).
The legislation sets a requirement of 12 days advance voting at each election, and the changes would mean special vote processing could get underway sooner.
Collins indicated 100,000 or more people could be directly or indirectly disenfranchised by rules banning enrolment in the final 13 days before an election, with young people and areas with larger Māori, Asian and Pasifika likely to be the worst affected.
She noted there were other options the government could have implemented such as reverting to a deadline of the day before an election or a deadline of three, five or seven days before.
Collins declined an interview with Morning Report on the issue.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, told Morning Report, Collins had a statutory responsibility to review legislation to make sure it was consistent with the bill of rights.
"As a government we think enrolment should happen before early voting starts," he said.
Luxon pointed to Australia as an example of a country that does not allow enrolment on the same day as voting.
"We want everyone to participate but it's just done two weeks before elections day. It's not uncommon, it gives people plenty of time to get enrolled and get sorted.
"All we're saying is we want everybody to participate in our democracy... not an unreasonable request."
But constitutional lawyer Graeme Edgeler, said the proposal to require voters to be enrolled at least 13 days before the election was a "step too far".
Edgeler told Midday Report he agreed with Collins' findings and the change could disenfranchise tens of thousands of people.
"It will mean some people at least, like someone who is released from prison in those two weeks, will not be able to enrol even though they are entitled to vote."
The views of the Attorney-General however, were not binding on Parliament, Edgeler said.
"But there will be a select committee so there might be some changes...if the government wants to make this change, its got the numbers, it can do it."
There was one good thing about the changes, Edgeler said, which was automatic enrolment, which would mean if person updates their contact information with a government agency any address changes would be passed on and they would get a letter sent to their new address letting them know they were now enrolled in that area.
On Election Day 2023 110,000 people enrolled to vote or updated their details.
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