No election threads till after 7pm

please.

VOTE though

had a ring from the men from the ministry huh?

nope.

Nah just sick of it.

I doubt they would bother but if you want to put up the money for a fine go ahead.

bah Just voted in parnell - and the two overseers (can't remember the actual term) were wearing National ribbons

surely that's illegal?

scrutineers

I thought that was a bit weird too Ele.

If it's any consolation, I saw a mixture of Labour and Greens ribbons at the High Court

nope, they are allowed to. it's limited to just a rosette or badge. they are not allowed to communicate with voters though.

http://www.elections.org.nz/rules/candidates/election-day-rules.html

Parties, party supporters or candidates may

* Wear party lapel badges (including rosettes) in public bearing the party’s name, emblem, slogan or logo (but not the candidate’s name)
* Display streamers, rosettes, ribbons and similar items in party colours on people or vehicles.

http://www.elections.org.nz/rules/candidates/appointing-scrutineers-and-special-voting-witnesses.html

Electorate candidates may appoint scrutineers to observe the conduct of the election in the following situations:

* the issue of votes during polling day and the preliminary count in polling places after 7pm,
* the early count of advance votes in the Returning Officer’s headquarters from 3pm on polling day,
* the checking of special vote declarations at the office of the Registrar of Electors,
* the scrutiny of the rolls at the Returning Officer’s headquarters,
* the official count at the Returning Officer’s headquarters, and
* any judicial recount of electorate votes.

Scrutineers need to be well briefed on their rights and obligations – in particular that they must not communicate with voters.

So, since we aren't talking about the election, how soon usually till we have an idea of who's leading?

After 7

Quite a while, some parties have greater influence in places that count quicker, so the initial results aren't actually that indicative of the final makeup (lol did I say too much ).

I think usually about 3-4 hours.

I woke up at 8 this morning and was supposed to start work at, um, 8 ... needless to say, in the rush I forgot all forms of ID as well as my voting card.

Surprisingly, no ID at all = not a barrier to voting