Nelson Weekly Your Community Newspaper
Tuesday 3 September 2013
mer m u S / g n i r Sp fashion
Daffodil day
Page 5
Hockey champs found
Pg 19-22
Page 31
Man must break law to vote
A Tahunanui man has been told the only way he can vote in this year’s local body election is to break the law. Daryl, who’s surname we’ve chosen not publish, leaves for a holiday in Turkey next week and won’t return until after the local body elections in mid-October. He says he’s been in touch with the electoral officer about the situation and asked if he could vote online, an option given to those voting overseas in the general election. But he
was told that option doesn’t exist for council elections and he couldn’t vote at the New Zealand consulate in Istanbul either. Posting letters to Turkey can be “dodgy” says Daryl and he wouldn’t trust it to arrive in time for him to cast his vote and get it back to New Zealand before the cut off. The gap caused by not having an electronic option left around a dozen Nelsonians with similar problems at the last council election and more are expected to be affected
Andrew Board Editor
andrew@nelsonweekly.co.nz this year. Daryl says one “informal” option was given to him by the electoral office: allow someone else to open his mail and cast the vote for him. The problem with that is that it breaks the electoral act, meaning it is against the law.
Leicester Harris racing his scratch built Westfield replica kit car at the Race Your Road Car event on Father’s Day. Photo: Sinead Ogilvie.
Warwick Lampp, the chief returning officer for Electionz which runs the election on behalf of Nelson City Council, says he would never recommend someone to break the law but if the voting packs are sent back correctly filled in then they are none the wiser and the vote is counted. “Most people use common sense with that, but it is illegal and it is an issue.”
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Father’s Day road race Car enthusiasts young and old raced alongside each other at the Nelson Car Club’s Race Your Road Car event on Sunday. The 30 odd participants were also there to celebrate Father’s Day and it was a huge success says club member and event organiser Adrian Curtis. “It’s great because you can get out there and have fun in any road car, with no racing experience at all.” Sunday’s Motokana style event was the first time it had been held on a tarseal surface, making for a great day of tyre spinning and fast lap times says Adrian. “It was a great day with a variety of
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