Submissions

To: The National Council of Local Government New Zealand
Date: April 2025

Purpose

This submission’s primary purpose is to advocate for a comprehensive overhaul of the Local Electoral Act 2001 and associated practices to ensure full accessibility and remove all barriers to electoral participation for disabled people, including tāngata whaikaha Māori, both as voters and as candidates. DPA aims to improve voter turnout and foster greater inclusion of disabled voices in local democracy.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on local electoral reform, noting its alignment with previous submissions to central government on local electoral legislation. DPA shares LGNZ’s concerns about the low voter turnout (36%) in the 2022 local government elections, seeing it as indicative of low public trust in local democracy. DPA members reported significant barriers to voting, including difficulties with postal voting due to fewer accessible postal outlets and the shift to digital technology. While some councils made efforts to improve accessibility (e.g., mobile voting booths), these were inconsistent across the country. A critical barrier was the widespread inaccessibility of electoral and candidate information in accessible formats (e.g., Braille, NZSL, Easy Read, audio, large print), which prevented many disabled voters from casting informed votes.

DPA argues that the Local Electoral Act 2001 is outdated, fails to address accessibility issues, and is non-compliant with Article 29 of the UNCRPD, which guarantees political rights and accessible voting procedures for persons with disabilities. DPA recommends replacing this Act with new legislation that prioritizes the removal of all barriers to electoral participation for disabled people and fully upholds the UNCRPD.

DPA cautiously supports the adoption of online voting but emphasises the necessity of offering multiple voting options, including digital voting, telephone dictation, Braille/large print ballots, onsite in-person voting, and assisted voting, due to the significant digital divide faced by many disabled people. All electoral information must be made available in accessible formats. DPA also advocates for retaining some form of postal voting, particularly for disabled and older people who may be reluctant to use technology or live in isolated communities.

DPA believes that the Electoral Commission should assume full responsibility for administering local government elections to ensure national consistency in accessibility, leveraging its expertise gained from parliamentary elections. The Commission should have a legislative duty to improve accessibility across all aspects of the local electoral process and handle all complaints. DPA highlights that the additional costs of running for office are prohibitive for disabled candidates, who are often low-income earners. They recommend extending the Election Access Fund Act 2020 to cover local government candidates. DPA also notes that tāngata whaikaha Māori face additional discrimination, making their participation even more challenging. Finally, DPA calls for mandatory disability responsiveness training for all newly elected councillors, delivered by disabled people, to reduce attitudinal barriers like ableism and encourage greater disabled representation in local government.

Key Recommendation/Finding:

That the Local Electoral Act 2001 be replaced with new local electoral legislation which has as one of its key principles the removal of all barriers to electoral participation for disabled people and uphold the UNCRPD.

Supporting Statement 1:

The current Local Electoral Act, nearly 25 years old, has largely failed to keep pace with technological and societal changes, and specifically does not address the inaccessibility of the local electoral process for many people, including disabled individuals.

Supporting Statement 2:

DPA members experienced significant difficulties in the 2022 local elections, including inability to access voting papers independently and a widespread lack of electoral information in accessible formats, directly impeding their ability to cast an informed vote.