5,000 signatures reached
To: Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Protect Our Vote: Stop Voter Suppression
We call on the Government to immediately stop all changes that limit or restrict the ability of people to enrol or vote.
Why is this important?
Most people in Aotearoa, no matter our background, income or postcode, value fairness and freedom. The freedom to have a say in decisions that impact our lives — from making housing more affordable, to creating jobs to making health care decent. We want everyone to have the freedom to vote as we know for our democracy to work for all of us, it must include all of us. We are proud to have been the first democracy where women could vote.
But right now, the Government is pushing through changes to the Electoral Act that will make it harder for many people to vote—especially those already underrepresented in our political system.
These proposed changes include:
- Scrapping same-day enrolment and voting on Election Day, a clearly effective measure for increasing turnout - used by over 80,000 people in the last election.
- Requiring strict forms of ID to vote, which puts unnecessary and expensive barriers up particularly for those on low incomes or experiencing homelessness.
- Shortening the voter enrollment deadline by a full week, which will target people with busy lives or housing instability.
- Banning all incarcerated people from enrolling and voting in our general election.
- Banning the distribution of free food and drinks near polling places, which has long been a simple, welcoming way to support voter turnout, and has the potential to impact marae specifically.
Even the Government’s own Attorney-General Judith Collins has warned these changes breach the Bill of Rights and risk silencing tens of thousands of voters. She found that the reforms would likely be inconsistent with the right to vote and lacked sufficient justification[1].
At the same time, the Prime Minister has publicly admitted he does not know the details of his own government’s proposals[2]. This is unacceptable when our fundamental democratic rights are on the line.
Voters pick our leaders -- leaders do not get to pick and choose their voters.
Let’s be clear: this is voter suppression—and it mirrors what far-right governments around the world are doing to consolidate power by discouraging democratic participation.
During their term, this Government has routinely bypassed democratic processes. In just its first 17 weeks, it passed 14 laws under urgency—without full public consultation or proper scrutiny. That’s more than many previous governments managed across an entire term[3].
If we let these electoral law changes go ahead, we risk silencing over a hundred thousand voters[4] at the next election —and setting a dangerous precedent.
We call on the Government to immediately:
At the same time, the Prime Minister has publicly admitted he does not know the details of his own government’s proposals[2]. This is unacceptable when our fundamental democratic rights are on the line.
Voters pick our leaders -- leaders do not get to pick and choose their voters.
Let’s be clear: this is voter suppression—and it mirrors what far-right governments around the world are doing to consolidate power by discouraging democratic participation.
During their term, this Government has routinely bypassed democratic processes. In just its first 17 weeks, it passed 14 laws under urgency—without full public consultation or proper scrutiny. That’s more than many previous governments managed across an entire term[3].
If we let these electoral law changes go ahead, we risk silencing over a hundred thousand voters[4] at the next election —and setting a dangerous precedent.
We call on the Government to immediately:
- Stop all changes that limit or restrict the ability of people to enrol or vote.
- Retain same-day enrolment and voting on Election Day.
- Reject strict voter ID laws that disproportionately impact Māori, young people, disabled voters, and others and will suppress voter turnout.
- Allow food and drink near polling places as a basic gesture of hospitality, tikanga Māori and community support.
- Commit to transparent, robust public consultation before any electoral law changes are made.
- Explore and commit to removing other barriers currently preventing people from voting.
For our democracy to work for all of us, it must include all of us. We need our leaders to be removing barriers stopping people voting, not creating new ones.
References:
- Attorney-General rules her own govt’s voting crackdown breaches human rights — Newsroom, 28 July 2025
- Christopher Luxon defends voting changes after Judith Collins raises problems — RNZ, 27 July 2025
- Urgency under scrutiny as pay equity changes rushed through — 1News, 11 May 2025
- New Zealand attorney general warns her government’s electoral reform could breach human rights law — The Guardian, 28 July 2025