Referrals to Police
Two separate matters have been referred to Police relating to the 2023 General Election.
Election day rules
The Electoral Commission has referred 20 incidents to Police in response to complaints about social media content on election day. The incidents involve people publishing or distributing statements likely to influence voters on election day in breach of section 197 of the Electoral Act 1993.
Election advertising
A separate referral has been made to Police relating to text messages promoting Te Pāti Māori which were published prior to the election without a promoter statement.
Under section 204F of the Electoral Act, an election advertisement must contain a promoter statement.
As these alleged breaches are now with Police, the Electoral Commission will not be commenting further.