7.1 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 and effectively prohibits anything on polling day which can be said to interfere with or influence voters, including processions, speeches or public statements.

The party secretary should be particularly careful to avoid any grounds for complaint. 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 faced in respect of this prohibition.

7.2 Campaigning on polling day is a criminal offence

Before polling day (26 November 2011) the party secretary must remove or cover all the party’s 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 on polling day. T-shirts and flags featuring party or candidate names, emblems, slogans or logos cannot be displayed on polling day. For this reason the the distribution of party or candidate 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.

A statement, party name, logo, slogan or emblem on party headquarters may remain on polling day if it does not refer specifically to the election campaign. This exception does not apply to a mobile headquarters.

Delivery of election material on polling day 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, party secretaries 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

Your party 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 party officials or supporters are not allowed to say or do anything which encourages potential voters to vote for the party or candidate.

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 statements that breach the law.

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

Party lapel badges

Party 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 a candidate’s 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. [See section 3A of the Electoral Act].

Because the regulated period ends at midnight on the day before polling day, the costs incurred in relation to party lapel badges or rosettes only worn on polling day are not an election expense. If a party lapel badge or rosette is worn at any time during the period beginning 26 August 2011 until 25 November 2011 (the regulated period), the costs incurred must be counted as an election expense. If a party cannot be sure that its supporters will not display party lapel badges or rosettes prior to polling day the Electoral Commission advises parties to include the expense in its expense return. The same issues apply to referendum lapel badges and rosettes.

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 a candidate’s name.

Clothing promoting the party or candidate

Clothing (such as t-shirts) promoting the party or candidate must not be displayed on polling day.

Presence in Polling Places

Candidates and their supporters (except an authorised scrutineer) may only enter a polling place for the purpose of voting. After voting, they must leave. 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.

7.3 MP signage

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

7.4 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.