6.1 Introduction

Any activities (including advertising) promoting the election of a candidate or party, or promoting the non-election of a party or candidate, are prohibited on polling day and are a criminal offence. The full list of prohibited activities is set out in section 197 of the Electoral Act which effectively prohibits anything that can be said to interfere with or influence voters, including processions, speeches or public statements. You should be particularly careful to avoid any grounds for complaints against you or your party. Apparent breaches of the law are reviewed by the Electoral Commission and, where appropriate, referred to the New Zealand Police. The Electoral Commission is happy to discuss any interpretation difficulties you face in respect of this prohibition.

6.2 Campaigning on polling day is a criminal offence

Before polling day (26 November 2011) you must remove or cover all your election advertising that can be seen from a public place. Returning Officers are authorised to remove or cover advertising and charge the costs to the people responsible.

Signs on vehicles, including bumper stickers, must be covered or removed. T-shirts and flags featuring party or candidate names, emblems, slogans or logos cannot be displayed on election day. For this reason, the distribution of candidate or party bumper stickers, t-shirts and flags is not recommended. Once distributed, you cannot be sure that they will not continue to be displayed on polling day. You could expose your supporters to the risk of inadvertently committing an offence.

Delivery of election material prohibited

You must not deliver election material through the post or directly to mailboxes on polling day. To avoid breaches, NZ Post will not accept mail for delivery after the Thursday in the week before polling day (i.e. Thursday 17 November 2011). To reduce the risk of postal delivery on election day, candidates should also ensure that any mail is clearly identifiable as being election related. If you or your supporters hand-deliver election material directly to mailboxes on the Friday before polling day, you can expect complaints by voters who think the material arrived on polling day. Those complaints will be reviewed by the Electoral Commission and, where appropriate, referred to the New Zealand Police.

Contacting voters

You may wish to offer voters assistance to get to the polling place. You are entitled to contact potential voters on polling day for that purpose. But you are not allowed to say or do anything which encourages them to vote for you or for your party.

If your supporters are contacting voters door-to-door or by phone the Electoral Commission recommends that you provide them with a script and advise them to adhere to it to ensure that they do not make any statement that breaches the law.

The script should not include reference to the candidate’s name to ensure that there can be no suggestion that the canvasser is attempting to raise the profile of the candidate on election day. A phone canvasser can introduce themselves as ringing on behalf of the party.

The Electoral Commission is happy to provide you with its view on whether any script complies with the rules for election day.

Websites

Election material does not have to be removed from a website on polling day, so long as the material on the site is only made available to people who voluntarily access it. New material must not be posted on the website on polling day. Advertisements promoting the website must not be published on polling day. You will need to ensure that public message boards and comment areas on your website cannot be added to on election day. If you use social media, do not post messages on election day that could breach these rules.

Streamers, rosettes, ribbons etc

Streamers, rosettes (other than those designed to be worn on the lapel), ribbons and similar items in party colours may be displayed on polling day but only on people or vehicles and must not contain party names, emblems, slogans, logos or your name.

Party lapel badges

You and your supporters may wear party lapel badges in public on polling day. A party lapel badge is a badge or rosette designed to be worn on the lapel and bearing the party’s name, emblem, slogan or logo. Do not display the lapel badge on vehicles or in other places on polling day.

Do not show your name on the lapel badge.

The Electoral Commission advises parties to include a promoter statement on its party lapel badges as they may be considered to be an election advertisement.

Clothing promoting the party or candidate

Clothing (such as T-shirts) promoting the party or candidate must not be displayed on polling day. Election Day Party Lapel Badges Party Lapel Badges Scrutineers and other persons (other than electoral officers) are permitted under the Electoral Act 1993 to wear party lapel badges on Election Day. This is an example of what lapel badges can display. A candidate’s name cannot be displayed on a lapel badge. Party lapel badges (a badge or rosette to be worn on the lapel) may be in party colours and contain the party name, emblem, slogan or logo. Please refer any complaints to the Electoral Commission. E62

Presence in polling places

Candidates may only enter a polling place to vote. After voting, they must leave. Candidates should not enter a polling place to interact with scrutineers. If a candidate wishes to be filmed or photographed voting, they must have the approval of the Returning Officer. Approval will be given on condition that:

• the filming or photographing does not disrupt the polling place, and
• no interviews are given in the polling place or in the area around it.

Parties and candidates are asked to exercise restraint in the vicinity of polling places to avoid complaints.

MP signage

It is an offence to exhibit any party name, emblem, slogan or logo on a vehicle on election day. MP’s sign-written vehicles that include a party name, emblem, slogan or logo should not be displayed on election day.

6.3 Imitation ballot papers

Do not print or distribute, on polling day or after midnight on the Tuesday before polling day, anything which imitates a ballot paper (or part of a ballot paper) to be used at the election and which contains any direction or matter likely to influence a voter. Do not print or distribute on polling day any card or paper showing the candidates or parties even if it is not an imitation of a ballot paper.

In the past the issue has arisen as to whether election advertising in newspapers offends the legislative provision against imitation ballot papers. Whilst each case depends on its facts, the use in an advertisement of a tick against a party name or candidate name does not, of itself, offend the provision.