About 1,200 ineligible people to be removed from electoral roll

The Electoral Commission has added around 6,300 people to the electoral roll after finding an enrolment eligibility processing issue that affected residence class visa holders. About 1,200 people were added to the roll when they should not have been, the commission has found.

The problem arose when some people with residence class visas who applied to enrol were asked to provide information about their immigration status when they did not need to. RNZ The number of people who could be affected was put at up to 6,800. Stuff

The commission's notice of 30 October said it was contacting some people with residence class visas about the issue in its enrolment system. Electoral Commission

The roughly 1,200 ineligible enrolments are people who hold temporary entry class visas, such as work visas, or people whose visas have expired. The commission will remove them from the roll before the official count of votes, which is the final tally after polling day, and will notify them in writing. Votes these voters have already cast will be disallowed. RNZ

People whose enrolment applications were valid have been told they are enrolled and can vote.

To enrol in New Zealand, a person must be 18 or older, be a New Zealand citizen or a resident for electoral purposes, and have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months. For electoral purposes, the commission defines a resident as someone living in New Zealand lawfully who is not required to leave within a specified time. Holders of a 2021 Resident Visa who meet those criteria are eligible to enrol and vote. Electoral Commission

The commission set out the addition of the 6,300 people in a media release titled "Residents added to electoral roll". Electoral Commission