Doctor Lara Greaves discusses Maori roll enrolment deadline

Enrolled Māori voters wanting to switch between electoral rolls have until midnight on Thursday (August 6) to decide before this year's election.

The latest Electoral Commission figures show there are currently 305,124 voters registered on the Māori Roll, which is an increase of 14,824 since the 2023 general election.

Within the same timeframe, the number of Māori on the general roll has dropped by more than 20,000 to 255,900.

The gap between the two rolls has more than tripled since the last election with more than 49,224 on the Māori roll than the general roll.

The latest data indicates the growth in numbers on the Maori roll has largely been driven by voters already enrolled who have switched from the general, to the Māori roll.

Associate professor in politics at Victoria University of Wellington, Dr Lara Greaves told Midday Report she expects the Māori roll to keep growing over the next three years.

"We've got this very young group that are ageing into voting more and more every day, the Māori population is kind of shaped like a triangle so what we're expecting to see is more rangatahi Māori age into voting, and what we know about rangatahi Māori is that many are very proud of their culture, of their language, they want to uphold Te Tiriti, they want to uphold Māori rights."

People who want to represent Māori rights in politics generally go on the Māori roll, she said.

Greaves said there has been a number of public campaigns by Māori organisations and political parties to encourage people to switch to the Māori roll.

"Generally we've seen a lot of people try to campaign to get more Māori on the Māori roll, the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti that was another one where people were talking about 'hey go on the Māori roll that's a way to exercise your political rights.' So there's been quite a few campaigns and ways of trying to get people to learn more about the Māori roll.

"My own research shows that actually there's not a lot of knowledge out there, fewer than half of a survey that we conducted knew that more Māori on the Māori roll means more Māori electorates."

One unorthodox campaign that has been turning heads online is from Green candidate for Waiariki Tania Waikato, it features images of young Māori women in bikinis and shirtless Māori men.

"If bikinis mean people take a moment to think about the Māori roll than so be it," Greaves said.

The chief Māori advisor Hone Matthews said the Commission has sent letters, follow up emails and text reminders to entitled voters.

Thousands have taken the opportunity to change rolls, enrol, or update their address on the electoral roll.

"If you are happy with the roll you're on, kei te pai. If you would like to change rolls before the election, you need to do it now."

The Electoral Commission expects to see enrolment numbers continue to increase as the election draws closer.

It has also advised anyone who experiences technical difficulties with enrolment to call 0800 36 76 56. From overseas, the number is +64 9 909 4182 (international call rates may apply).

The Commission said it will take time to process pending change requests once the deadline passes and it expects to release the final count later this month.