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It is the most important political day of the season. The day that will mark how this country will conduct itself for the next three years. But you wouldn’t know by reading the news.
If you’re eagerly browsing your favorite news website or newspaper in search of up-to-date election coverage, you’re out of luck.
The law prohibits anyone from doing anything that might influence the vote on Election Day, between 7 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, when the polls close.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / Stuff
Voters can go to the polls until 7 pm Saturday.
These rules apply for Saturday only, despite the fact that more than half of the country’s votes will have already been cast, with 1.7 million people casting their votes by the end of Thursday.
All of those early votes could well be a very short election night, as the Election Commission will begin counting them at 9 a.m. on Saturday. However, the results will not be published until after 7pm.
For the candidates, this blackout means no more campaigning, with all billboards removed at midnight on Friday, no public-facing events planned for Saturday, and no tweets or Facebook posts asking for votes. They also cannot conduct polls, as that could influence the vote.
For news outlets, it basically means there is no political coverage, as any of that could sway your vote. We cannot tell you what the political leaders said as their final speech, what we think this election was about, or who has campaigned well. Some may see this as a welcome relief.
Candidates and their supporters can do a few things.
They can use party colors or rosettes. They can also encourage the vote itself, but not the vote for any specific party or person.
Similarly, for the media, there are some things that can be printed. We can talk about the fact that there are elections and discuss the people who are going to vote. We used to bring you photos of various political leaders casting their votes, but almost all of them do so early, so you are likely to see doggy news at polling stations.
University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said the restrictions were an “anachronism” of the old world view of voting, but people seemed to like it.
“It is outdated and difficult to justify from a Rights Act perspective,” Geddis said.
Ross Giblin
There is some news that we can still post on voting day, so expect some dog photos.
“The only justification that really comes along is that people like to have a quiet day. It is difficult to say that for all those people who I like it talking about politics on election day can’t because some people like silence. “
The huge growth in early voting in the last election has made the law even sillier.
“Given that between 50 and 70 percent of the people have voted, there are two quite different rules. Early voting happens when the election campaign is in full swing, ”Geddis said.
However, he noted that it would be “deeply undemocratic” to prevent people from discussing the elections during the early voting period.
Another excuse put forward is that the law prevents a candidate from posting incorrect information just before Election Day and does not give others a chance to rebut it.
But Geddis pointed out that the Election Law already makes it illegal to knowingly publish false information in an attempt to influence voters within three days of an election.
However, political enthusiasts have one more dose of news to read before the polls close.
The Electoral Commission will release the total early votes at 2 pm, letting the country know how many people had cast their votes by the end of Friday.
On Thursday, 176,229 people voted, the highest total of weekdays in this election, bringing the total number to more than 1.74 million. That’s just over half of those registered to vote.
If the last election is any guide, Friday will have been the most important day for early voting.
