Mana by-election - election day guidance for media

Campaigning on Election Day is a criminal offence.

The Electoral Act prohibits campaigning of any kind on Election Day. The general intention of the Electoral Act is to leave voters alone from midnight until 7pm on Election Day so they can vote without interference.

It is a criminal offence to distribute or broadcast any statement that is likely to influence a voter as to the candidate the voter should or shouldn’t vote for, or which influences people to abstain from voting.

On Election Day, candidates, political parties and others must:

• Cover up or take down all election signs.
• Cover up or place away from public view vehicles advertising parties or candidates (this includes bumper stickers).
• Not distribute any campaign material.
• Not distribute or display anything showing political party or candidate names.
• Not post any new material on websites. Existing website material does not have to be removed, as long as the website is not proactively promoted to voters.
• Not display clothing (such as T-shirts) promoting a party or candidate.

Parties, party supporters or candidates may
Wear party lapel badges (including rosettes) in public bearing the party’s name, emblem, slogan or logo (but not the candidate’s name).

Display streamers, rosettes, ribbons and similar items in party colours on people or vehicles.
Contact voters to offer help to get to a polling place. They must not say or do anything that influences voters as to the party or candidate they should or should not vote for.

Fixed signs exhibited before polling day on party headquarters including party names, slogans or logos that do not relate specifically to the election campaign can stay.

Election material does not have to be removed from a website on Election Day as long as the material is only made available to people who voluntarily access it. New material must not be posted on the website on Election Day. Advertisements promoting the website must not be published on Election Day.

Scrutineers
Scrutineers may be appointed by candidates to observe in polling places and during the preliminary count. Scrutineers may wear party lapel badges. They must not communicate with voters. When the electoral official reads out from the electoral roll the line and page number of the voter the scrutineer is entitled to record this.

Media Activity on Election Day
All election advertising and other statements, by anybody including the media, which could influence voters cannot be published or broadcast on Election Day. For this purpose newspapers published after 6pm on the day before Election Day are treated as being published on Election Day.

No opinion polling of voters can be carried out on Election Day.

News stories posted on websites before Election Day can remain, as long as the website is not advertised on Election Day.

Photo/filming opportunities on Election Day
Candidates may only be in a polling place for the purpose of voting.

Media organisations can take photos or film at a polling place as long as:

• The Returning Officer approves. Media must contact the Electoral Commission before Election Day to arrange this.
• No photographs or footage is taken of voters actually completing their ballot papers or showing how a person voted. Media cannot go behind the voting screens.
• Photographers or camera crews do not disrupt voters from voting, or officials from their duties.
• No undue delays are caused to voters.
• No interviews are conducted in or near the polling place.

Election Results (www.electionresults.govt.nz)

Preliminary Results on Saturday 20 November 2010
Preliminary Results will be progressively available from 7.00pm Saturday 20 November from www.electionresults.govt.nz. Targets for release are:
- by 7.30pm all advance votes
- by 9.00pm results from 50% of polling places
- by 10.00pm results from 100% of polling places.
Please note these are targets not guarantees.

Official Results
The official results of the Mana by-election are due for release by noon Wednesday 1 December 2010.