Allowing people to enroll to vote on voting day improves democracy, says Green Party Electoral Issues spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman.
“The only reason given for not supporting these changes is that National are worried it will help other parties. National is admitting it wants to stop people voting in order to help their own political position.
“New Zealand has one of the strongest democracies in the world and it is important that everyone has access to it. We’ve seen how arbitrary barriers to voting can damage democracies abroad, such as the United States where it has become increasingly difficult for disenfranchised people to vote.
“Preventing people from being able to enroll to vote on a particular day just doesn’t make sense.
“My work as Justice and Electoral Issues spokesperson for the Green Party has been focused on making democracy fairer for us all. This change helps fulfill the point in our Confidence and Supply Agreement on strengthening New Zealand’s democracy by increasing public participation."