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EXPLANATOR: Do New Zealanders Support Cannabis Legalization and Euthanasia? We won’t know on Saturday night.
While party votes and candidate votes will be counted and promoted from the end of Saturday’s vote, the final count for each referendum will be kept secret until November.
The Electoral Commission will release the preliminary results of each referendum on October 30 and the official results will be released on November 6, 35 days after the start of early voting and 20 days after Election Day.
BRADEN FASTIER / Things
The results of the referendums included in this year’s elections will not be released until November.
Since early voting opened on October 3, more than 1.4 million people have voted for their candidate and preferred party, but the number of people who have cast votes for each referendum is unknown.
READ MORE:
* Election 2020: What to do if your voting package has not arrived
* Election: 2020 There is more than one way to delay an election. That’s how
* Euthanasia referendum: What is assisted death? Explanation of the end-of-life vow
Both referendums, the end-of-life election bill and the legalization of cannabis, were optional for voters.
Those who chose to present their preferences for one or both referendums had the option of marking “yes” or “no” to express whether they supported them or not.
The end-of-life election bill, or the euthanasia bill as it is known, is a binding referendum.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / THINGS
Waikato Hospital doctors speak out on the euthanasia referendum.
If more than 50 percent of the voters support it with a “yes” vote, the law will take effect on November 6, 2021, 12 months after the final votes are announced. The law gives terminally ill people the option to apply for assistance in dying.
Although Parliament has already passed the End of Life Election Act, if the majority of voters are against and vote “no”, it will not become law.
The referendum on the legalization and control of cannabis is not binding.
If the majority of the people vote “yes”, the incoming government can present a bill to Parliament, but it is not necessary. As the bill progresses through the process, members of the public will have the opportunity to express their opinions on how a law might work.
An already proposed bill would allow people to possess and use cannabis in limited circumstances.
If the majority of the votes in the referendum is “no”, recreational cannabis will remain illegal in New Zealand under existing law.
