NZ Politics

Same-day enrolment for elections is set to be scrapped, with the government announcing legislation to overhaul electoral laws it says have become unsustainable.

Previously, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote.

Justice minister Paul Goldsmith said late enrolments, while well intentioned, were resource intensive and had placed too much strain on the system.

The Electoral Amendment Bill contains some other changes, including the introduction of automatic enrolment updates so the Electoral Commission can update a person's address directly following a data match.

Free food, drink or entertainment within 100m of a voting place will be made an offence, punishable with a fine of $10,000.

The ban on prisoner voting, which the government had already announced, will also be included in the bill.

In addition, the donation threshold for reporting the names of donors will be adjusted from $5,000 to $6,000 to account for inflation.