The Electoral Review panel has released its interim report with draft recommendations on proposed changes to our parliamentary electoral system.
Recommendations made by the panel include:
- Lowering the voting age for general elections to 16 and extend overseas voting rules.
- Extending voting rights to all prisoners, not just those sentenced to less than a three-year jail term.
- Holding a referendum on extending the Parliamentary term from three to four years.
- Lowering the party vote threshold from 5 to 3.5 per cent and abolishing the coat-tail rule.
- Restricting political donations to registered voters, rather than organisations, and capping them at $30,000 to each party and its candidates per electoral cycle while reducing the amount that can be anonymously donated.
- Rewriting the Electoral Act to modernise its language (e.g. eliminating references to faxes).
- Requiring the Electoral Commission to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.
For further information, you can read the Interim Report HERE. Or, the Interim Report: Executive summary, available HERE.
Upcoming public webinars
The panel is holding four public webinars to talk through each part of the review and its draft recommendations. The dates for these online webinars will be:
- 13 June at 12.00pm – 1.00pm
- 27 June at 7.00pm – 8.30pm
- 28 June at 12.00pm – 1.30pm
- 28 June at 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Bookings for these events can be made HERE
We have until July 17 to have our say
All New Zealanders are invited to let the review panel know what we think about their draft recommendations. We can either write our own submissions or fill out the consultation survey. Click HERE for details.
Following the public consultation process, the Review panel will give its final recommendations to the Justice Minister in November, after the election.
Media coverage
RNZ: Electoral system review recommends voting age lowered to 16, party threshold to 3.5%
Stuff: Political parties divided over electoral review interim recommendations