'Absolute bulls***': Labour MP blasts coalition over 'evil' voting changes
New Zealand Labour MP Damien O'Connor has criticized the government's new electoral laws, which prohibit same-day voter registration. Labour officials argue these changes disproportionately disenfranchise transient and lower-income voters, though the government maintains the move is intended to expedite vote counting.
Why it matters
The debate highlights ongoing tensions regarding electoral integrity versus voter accessibility in democratic systems.
Labour is putting extra effort into ensuring people are enrolled to vote this election, with one of its MPs accusing the coalition of having an "evil agenda" to disallow its opponents' ballots.
Under new changes by the government , voters will no longer be able to enrol on election day or in the advance voting period, a move Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said was necessary to speed up the final vote count.
Senior Labour MP Damien O'Connor said the coalition was trying to "cut out and eliminate" the votes of poorer, more transient people.
"Absolute bullshit," he told reporters on Tuesday. "It's quite an evil agenda from the right, as we're seeing around the world, that's just been brought into the New Zealand democracy, and it is an outrage."
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