Willie Jackson said "the gerrymandering of our voting rules to rig the election" was offensive. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour MP Willie Jackson has accused the government of trying to rig next year's election through its move to block people from being able to enrol for 12 days before voting day.
The claim - made during Parliament's general debate on Wednesday - goes further than Labour's official position which has been that electoral changes would make it harder to vote.
Jackson also used his speech to criticise Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour as the "biggest dropkick of all" following Seymour's use of the term to disparage late enrollers.
"I don't know what's more offensive," Jackson told MPs. "The gerrymandering of our voting rules to rig the election, or the deputy prime minister referring to 600,000 people as dropkicks."
Seymour last week told reporters he was "sick of dropkicks that can't get themselves organised to follow the law". More than 600,000 people enrolled or updated their enrolment details after writ day in 2023, including 110,000 on election day itself.
In a fiery speech on Wednesday, Jackson poured contempt on the "disgraceful, rotten, useless government", accusing it of actively suppressing the vote and "vandalising democratic participation".
He pointed to official advice which noted that young people, Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities would be disproportionately affected by the changes.
"It's racist disenfranchisement," Jackson said. "It's a breach of democracy... this government risks being accused of rigging the next election."
Jackson commended Attorney-General Judith Collins as "one of the most principled National Party members" for standing up to her "weak and useless leader" by warning that the voting changes breached human rights.
"She's had the courage to call these voter suppression powers what they are: discriminatory."
Jackson concluded his speech by taking at aim at Seymour, calling on him to apologise for his "disgraceful" description of some voters as dropkicks.
"He's the most dangerous politician of the last generation... not only a disgrace as the deputy prime minister, but surely the biggest dropkick of all."
Seymour and Goldsmith brush off Jackson's criticisms
Speaking to RNZ, Seymour laughed off Jackson's description of him as a dropkick: "To be honest, I was always an open side flanker. Didn't really do a big drop kick, although, on a good day, I could nail one from just outside the 22."
Seymour said Jackson's claims were "wrong and insane" but he could not help but like the man because "you know he doesn't mean it".
"He's more a figure of fun for me," Seymour said. "Although I do worry a little bit about - you know - a man of his age - the old ticker can give out if he hyperventilates too much at work in the House."
In a statement to RNZ, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said Jackson was prone to "hyperbole and mangling of the facts".
"People are not being disenfranchised, they are merely being required to enrol," Goldsmith said.
The government's legislation banning same-day voter enrolment passed its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday and will now be considered by select committee.
During the debate, Goldsmith told MPs the change was required because the increasing number of special votes was delaying the final vote count.
"The final vote count used to take two weeks. Last election, it took three," Goldsmith said. "The advice I received is that if we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections."
Goldsmith flatly rejected the claim that people were being disenfranchised, saying the 110,000 people who updated their details on election day in 2023 only did so because they had been told they could.
"The message will be different this election. People will be told they need to be enrolled well before voting starts. It's not that hard, and people are capable of doing these things."
Justice officials, however, recommended against the move and warned it could result in lower turnout and reduce confidence in the electoral system.
"Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant," officials said.
The move has also been criticised by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner and electoral law experts Andrew Geddis and Graeme Edgeler.
Since 2019, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote.
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