Up Front by Emma Hart

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Up Front: The Surprisingly Sincere Up Front Guide to Voting Part 2: Everything Else

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  • Scott A,

    So, what was this legal challenge that resulted in the "name must be said aloud" practice?

    The wilds of Kingston, We… • Since May 2009 • 133 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Scott A,

    So, what was this legal challenge that resulted in the "name must be said aloud" practice?

    I asked, and they were quite cagey about it, so... It was voter-eligibility related.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    Cheers for all that, Emma. My lad is eligible to vote now and it's heart warming how excited he is about it.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Stevenson,

    No additional messages when I hover over the links?
    Those are some of the best bits in your columns (and that's a high bar)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • Trevor Nicholls,

    Thank you for this, Emma. I hope you're staying well.

    Wellington, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 325 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Andrew Stevenson,

    No additional messages when I hover over the links?
    Those are some of the best bits in your columns (and that's a high bar)

    Aw, thanks Andrew. Tbh, I started laying off them because so many people are reading them on Devices, and so don't get mouse-over text.

    Thank you for this, Emma. I hope you're staying well.

    I have just had the 'doing okay for now' on my brain tumor. And it's spring, so I'll be getting better otherwise.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen,

    I personally would probably drink less gin

    Why would you want to do that?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • linger,

    Have to admit, the "EasyVote card" reference is strange to me. How long has that been a thing? I don't remember getting one last time, and certainly won't receive one before voting this time. (I will be casting an advance vote before returning to Japan.) If it isn't actually needed for voting, what is its purpose?

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to linger,

    Have to admit, the "EasyVote card" reference is strange to me. How long has that been a thing? I don't remember getting one last time, and certainly won't receive one before voting this time. (I will be casting an advance vote before returning to Japan.) If it isn't actually needed for voting, what is its purpose?

    I can't remember, but at the very least they've been around the last three elections.

    Its purpose is that it makes voting faster. It has the page and line number of the roll on it, so we can go straight to your name. Also it has your named spelled correctly, so we don't have to to ask.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    (from the greens: “How to vote from anywhere” - I sent it to my daughter in Oz)

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    An excellent column at The Spinoff on how to vote from overseas, for those who prefer to read something rather than watch a video*: Voting from overseas: a dummies’ guide for New Zealanders

    *I usually far prefer reading to watching a video, because then I can absorb it at my own pace rather than at the pace that the maker of the video prescribes. But each to their own etc.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Shiny,

    Can I say my name in any official NZ language? (i have a sign name). How do Deaf people do this?

    Will they know if i mispronounce it? Can they say “no, that’s not how i think it’s said”.. ?


    What is the point here other than outing transgender people to everyone in ear shot?

    Since Oct 2012 • 2 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Oh - and my daughter in Melbourne tells me she has indeed voted ... it has begun

    BTW - parents please take your kids with you on election day when you vote, we did it every time, so they knew it's an important part of becoming an adult ...

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • izogi,

    Can anyone with the legal knowledge comment on the rules around photographing one's marked ballot paper and posting it to social media?

    To me it seems one of the things that should be made clearly illegal under the Electoral Act, because the ability for people to create evidence of how they're voting arguably compromises the integrity of the election. But I cannot see anything clearly indicated in the Electoral Act about this.

    Last election there were lots of people sharing photos of their ballot papers, and being told off and sometimes threatened with prosecution. From memory, though, it seemed to come down to some kind of obscure technicality to do with counterfeiting ballot papers under 201(1)(a), even though it's almost certainly not what that offence was intended for and there must be a strong argument that a photograph of a marked ballot paper really isn't a forgery.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    What if you can't talk?

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Homer,

    The requirement is to "verbally give or verbally confirm his or her
    name"
    . Before 2014 it just said "give any particulars that are necessary for finding the elector’s name on the rolls.", but this version was there for the last election too. I suppose someone complained about what "confirm" means.

    If you can't speak, you can gesture, or meet the requirement by "any other means with the assistance of a person nominated by the elector who is present with the elector".

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 85 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Michael Homer,

    The requirement is to "verbally give or verbally confirm his or her
    name". Before 2014 it just said "give any particulars that are necessary for finding the elector’s name on the rolls.", but this version was there for the last election too. I suppose someone complained about what "confirm" means.

    So last election, our script was to find them on the roll and then say, "Can you confirm you name is [name]?"

    This time around, we find them on the roll and then say, "Can you please state your name?" and they have to say it. If they're Deaf or can't speak, they can point or otherwise indicate it, but this is our default script.

    Can I say my name in any official NZ language? (i have a sign name). How do Deaf people do this?

    Is your sign name your legal name?

    If you finger-spell your legal name, I will understand it, but most Issuing Officers won't.

    And yeah, my son, who will be voting for the first time this election, is both deaf and trans, so I very much understand the difficulties.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    ... it has begun

    ... Advance Voting starts here on September 11th !!

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to izogi,

    Can anyone with the legal knowledge comment on the rules around photographing one's marked ballot paper and posting it to social media?

    This is really a thing? I know this comes across as pompous as hell, but I like the idea of polling places being secular sacred spaces and one of the things they're consecrated to is the secret ballot. If you want to tell everyone who you voted for, go to. That's your business, but that's where I draw the line.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • simon g,

    I love Advance Voting, but I do wonder how it clashes with the strict laws on election day activity. Presumably nobody is proposing a media blackout or Twitter ban for weeks before the day itself.

    Exit polls are common overseas, but not used in NZ. Is there anything to stop exit polls being conducted on Advance Voting? How long before pollsters (or party spinners with mysterious "internal polls") start telling us how people have voted, to influence those who haven't yet?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Andrew, in reply to Michael Homer,

    The requirement is to "verbally give or verbally confirm his or her
    name". Before 2014 it just said "give any particulars that are necessary for finding the elector’s name on the rolls.", but this version was there for the last election too. I suppose someone complained about what "confirm" means.

    From the phrasing of that, I'd expect that handing over my Easy Vote card and saying, "Yes, that is my name" would be sufficient. Would they really prevent me from voting if I don't say "I am Jeremy Andrew"?

    Hamiltron - City of the F… • Since Nov 2006 • 900 posts Report Reply

  • Moz, in reply to Shiny,

    Will they know if i mispronounce it?

    My name is Moz, with the M pronounced with a ph sound and the oz to rhyme with "duck you". I fear that my attempt to exaggerate will be quickly met with an example of a name that is less phonetic. Yatkznintaayh pronounced Jacinta with a soft J or something.

    I assume there's a latinisation requirement for names as well? How far does that go - are Maori macrons ok? And unicode psuedo-latin glyphs (the upside down latin, for example?)

    The "must visit every three years" thing doesn't go with my politics, so I can't vote. I miss voting in Aotearoa. Have fun, all!

    Sydney, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 1233 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to simon g,

    Exit polls are common overseas, but not used in NZ. Is there anything to stop exit polls being conducted on Advance Voting? How long before pollsters (or party spinners with mysterious "internal polls") start telling us how people have voted, to influence those who haven't yet?

    I'm so intrigued by this I'm running a Twitter poll on how people would respond, because my gut instinct is that exit polling is so foreign to the NZ mindset around voting that you'd struggle to get useful data from it. So far, the 'tell them to fuck off' and 'creatively lie' options are running higher than 'tell them how you voted'.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to Jeremy Andrew,

    From the phrasing of that, I'd expect that handing over my Easy Vote card and saying, "Yes, that is my name" would be sufficient. Would they really prevent me from voting if I don't say "I am Jeremy Andrew"?

    Again, "Yes that's my name" would have been sufficient in 2014. This time we will ask you what your name is, and if you refuse to say, we will send you to the polling place manager. (I assume that the reasoning is that if you have someone else's EasyVote card, and I'm holding it, you might cock up reproducing the name on it.)

    I understand how weird this seems. But I'm going to beg you not to be a dick about it.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Wain,

    Since we don't have to provide ID, can't anyone pretend to be me?

    I would hate to get to the polls and be told someone had already voted for me!

    Since Nov 2006 • 155 posts Report Reply

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