‘Looming disaster’: Andrew Geddis answers your questions on enrolment and voting

With the numbers of young people registered to vote at less than two-thirds, and an enrolment period coming to a close a fortnight earlier than recent elections, there is cause for serious concern, says Professor Andrew Geddis, electoral law expert from the University of Otago. We asked you for your questions about the voting process – the rules, the rorts, the practicalities, and here Geddis answers them.

Other questions include:

• What does “splitting your vote” mean and when should someone think about doing it?
• What is the “overhang strategy”, and what impact will there be if it works?
• How does the “overhang” work?
• What’s the deal with large anonymous donations?
• Should we move to a fairer voting system within electorates?
• What happens if there is a dead heat in the seats won by each bloc and neither can achieve a majority in parliament?
• What happens if a party doesn’t have enough names on its list to fill the seats it’s entitled to?
• How do you vote if you’re bed-bound?
• How do you vote if you turn 18 after enrolment closes on October 25?
• Would the Professor be known as “Geddo” if he had a similar profile in Australia?

Plus: Tara Ward says forget Florence Pugh: the real star of East of Eden is north of Dunedin.

At Large with Toby Manhire is produced by Te Aihe Butler, Bridget Mills and The Spinoff.