Voting in New Zealand facts for kids

Voting in New Zealand started after British settlers arrived. The New Zealand Constitution Act was passed in 1852. The first national elections happened the next year.

From 1853 to 1876, elections were held every five years. Back then, elections for local councils were more popular than national ones. These local councils were removed in 1876. Since 1879, national elections usually happen every three years. Sometimes, during big events like wars, elections have been delayed. Governments have also called early elections, known as 'snap' elections. Today, most attention is on national elections, not local ones.

At first, only men who owned land could vote in general elections until 1879. However, Māori electorates were created in 1867. In these, all Māori men could vote. Women gained the right to vote in 1893. This meant almost everyone could vote, which is called universal suffrage. In 1996, New Zealand started using the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system. This system makes sure that every vote helps decide the election outcome.

Fewer people have been voting in New Zealand over time. However, more people voted in the last four general elections: 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020.

Early History of Voting in New Zealand

When New Zealand became a British colony, it was ruled by a governor. This governor was chosen by the British government. Early settlers wanted to choose their own leaders by voting. In the 1840s, groups in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago pushed for elections and self-government.

First Local Elections in New Zealand

The first important election in the new colony was for the Wellington Town Council in October 1842. All "Burgessers" could vote. These were likely only men. It's not clear if only Europeans could vote or what age limits there were. Voters had to pay a one-pound tax instead of owning property. This led to some people paying for others to vote. This practice was common among all successful candidates. This local election also saw the start of a working-class party.

Voting After the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852

The first national elections in New Zealand were held in 1853. This was a year after the British government passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. This law gave settlers in New Zealand some power to govern themselves. They had been unhappy with the governor's strong rule. The Constitution Act created a parliament with two parts. The lower part, the House of Representatives, was elected every five years. The upper part, the appointed Legislative Council, was later removed in 1950.

At first, only certain people could vote. To vote, a person had to be:

• a man,
• a British subject,
• at least 21 years old,
• an owner of land worth at least £50, or paying a certain amount in yearly rent (£10 for farmland or a city house, or £5 for a rural house), and
• not serving a serious criminal sentence.

In theory, Māori men could vote. But the rules did not count land owned by a whole community. This was a common rule in voting systems back then. Because of this, many Māori could not vote. Historians still discuss if this rule was meant to stop Māori from voting. Some settlers worried that if Māori could vote, they would be a powerful group. However, most Māori were not very interested in a "settler parliament." They felt it did not affect them much.

Even with these rules, New Zealand's voting system was quite open compared to many other countries. About three-quarters of adult European men in New Zealand could vote. In Britain, only about one-fifth of adult men could vote at that time.

Key Changes for Voting in New Zealand

Gold Miners Get the Vote

In 1860, 15 new voting areas were created. In 1862, changes were made because many people moved to Otago. This was due to the gold rush that started in 1861. In 1862, men aged 21 and over who had a miner's right for at least three or six months could vote. This allowed miners to vote even if they did not own land. They were seen as important to the economy.

A special voting area was made in Otago for gold miners. This was the Goldfields area from 1863 to 1870. Then came the Goldfields Towns area from 1866 to 1870. To vote, a miner just showed his miner's license. There were no voter lists for these areas. Outside Otago, miners could register to vote in the regular area where they lived. About 6,000 people held miner's licenses.

Māori Electorates Are Created

In 1867, four Māori electorates were created. This allowed Māori men to vote without needing to own land. People who supported this change thought it would be a temporary solution. They believed Māori would soon change their traditional land ownership customs. However, these seats became a permanent part of the election system.

While creating Māori electorates was seen as a good step, the results were not always perfect. The seats did help Māori take part in politics. But based on the Māori population size at the time, there should have been about 15 seats, not just four. Because Māori could only vote in Māori electorates, and the number of these seats stayed the same for over 100 years, Māori were under-represented for a long time.

When MMP was introduced in the 1990s, some people wanted to remove the four Māori electorates. They argued that with MMP, Māori and Pākehā would vote in the same party vote. All parties with enough votes would be in Parliament. This would mean Māori would be fairly represented anyway. However, Māori leaders disagreed. Instead, the number of Māori seats was increased to better represent the population. In 2002, the number of Māori electorates went up to seven, and it has stayed that way since.

Some people still call for the removal of these seats today. This includes Winston Peters, the leader of the NZ First party.

Women Ratepayers Can Vote Locally

In 1867, the Municipal Corporations Act was passed. During debates, members of parliament realized it did not stop women from voting in local elections. The Act made women's voting optional at the local level. Only Nelson and Otago Provinces allowed it at first. It became compulsory in all provinces in 1875. An article in the Nelson Evening Mail in 1867 explained:

"...They pay rates, so they can vote for local matters. They can even serve as guardians. They also pay taxes, but they are not allowed to vote on how money is spent or choose those who do. Also, stopping women from having parliamentary rights goes against a main rule of government: no taxation without representation."

The Secret Ballot Is Introduced

At first, voters told an election official out loud who they wanted to vote for. In 1870, the secret ballot began. With this system, each voter marked their choice on a printed paper. They then put the paper in a sealed box. This system is still used today. The change happened to help voters feel less scared or pressured about their vote. It also helped reduce corruption.

Property Requirement for Voting Removed

After much discussion, Parliament decided in 1879 to remove the rule about owning property to vote. This meant anyone who met the other rules could vote. This change was important, even though New Zealand already had fewer voting restrictions than many other countries. It led to "working class" politicians being elected. Eventually, it helped create the Labour Party in 1916.

Country Quota Introduced

Started in 1881, the country quota meant rural voting areas were about one-third smaller than city voting areas. This made votes in rural areas more powerful in national elections. The first Labour government removed this quota in 1945.

Women's Suffrage in New Zealand

An 1893 cartoon showing William Rolleston telling women to vote for the Conservative Party. He says they "owe the franchise" to this party.

New Zealand women finally won the right to vote in national elections in 1893. This happened when a bill was passed by the Legislative Council. The House of Representatives (the elected lower house) had passed such a bill many times before. But in 1893, the appointed Legislative Council did not block it for the first time.

The movement for women's voting rights in New Zealand grew largely because of Kate Sheppard. She was the country's most famous suffragette. Inside parliament, politicians like John Hall, Robert Stout, Julius Vogel, William Fox, and John Ballance supported the movement. When Ballance became Premier in 1891 and formed the Liberal Party, many thought women would soon get the vote. However, attempts to pass a voting bill were repeatedly stopped by the Legislative Council. Ballance's predecessor, Harry Atkinson, had filled this council with conservative politicians.

When Ballance suddenly died on April 27, 1893, Richard Seddon became Premier. Seddon was part of Ballance's Liberal Party, but he was against women's voting rights. He expected the bill to be blocked again in the upper house. Despite Seddon's opposition, enough Members of Parliament voted for the bill in the House of Representatives. When it reached the Legislative Council, two members who had been against it changed their minds. They were angry at Seddon's "sneaky" actions to get another member to change his vote. So, the bill passed by 20 votes to 18. It became law on September 19, 1893. New Zealand is often said to be the first country in the world to give women the right to vote.

In the 1893 general election, women voted for the first time. However, they could not stand as candidates until 1919.

An analysis of voters showed that in the 1938 election election, 92.85% of those on the European voter lists voted. This included 93.43% of men and 92.27% of women. In the 1935 election election, the figures were 90.75% overall, with 92.02% of men and 89.46% of women voting. Māori electorates did not have voter lists, so they were not included.

Voting Rights for Seamen

From 1908, new laws gave voting rights to seamen who lived on their ships. They did not have a home address to qualify as voters. Because of this, some voter lists had "seamen's sections" with their ship as their address.

Voting Age Is Lowered

For most of New Zealand's early history, voters had to be at least 21 years old. Sometimes, laws changed to let younger people vote. For example, during World War I and World War II, military personnel serving overseas could vote no matter their age or where they lived. Later, Parliament lowered the voting age further. In 1969, it went down to 20 years old. In 1974, it was lowered to 18. This change happened partly because students became more interested in politics due to the Vietnam War protests.

In 2018, Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft suggested lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. Becroft believes this could help young people feel more involved in politics. He argues that being able to influence government policy is an important part of being engaged.

Overseas Voting

The Electoral Act 1956 allowed New Zealanders to vote from overseas. Before 1956, only military personnel serving overseas could vote. Civilians could not. Today, a New Zealand citizen loses the right to vote if they have been out of the country for more than three years in a row.

Citizenship Requirement Removed

In 1975, Parliament allowed all permanent residents of New Zealand to vote. This was regardless of whether they were citizens. However, a person cannot become a Member of Parliament unless they are a New Zealand citizen. For example, Kelly Chal, a candidate in the 2002 election, could not become a Member of Parliament because she was not a citizen.

Switch to MMP Voting System

Except for a short time from 1908 to 1913, New Zealand used the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system until 1996. In FPP, the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they don't get more than half. Over time, single-member voting areas became the norm. Nineteenth-century Prime Minister Harry Atkinson supported a proportional voting system, but people mostly ignored him then.

By the late 1900s, voters were becoming unhappy with the political system. For example, in the 1978 and 1981 elections, the opposition Labour Party won the most votes. But Robert Muldoon's ruling National Party won more seats. This happened because of the FPP system. People became even more upset when both Labour and National seemed to break their election promises. This made many people want to support smaller parties. But the FPP system made it hard for small parties to compete. For example, the Social Credit Party got 21% of the votes in 1981 but only won two seats.

Because of public anger, the Labour Party set up a Royal Commission on the Electoral System. This group gave its report in 1986. Both Labour and National expected small changes. But the Commission suggested the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, like the one used in Germany. Neither Labour nor National liked this idea. National tried to make Labour look bad for not supporting its own Commission's report. National then promised a public vote (referendum) on the matter. Labour, not wanting to be outdone, promised the same. So, both parties agreed to a referendum on a policy neither of them supported.

When National won the next election, they agreed to hold the promised referendum. The first vote was on September 19, 1992. It asked voters if they wanted to keep FPP or change. If they wanted to change, which of four systems (including MMP) did they prefer? The results showed 84.7% wanted to change, and 70.3% preferred MMP. A second, binding referendum was held with the 1993 general election on November 6, 1993. Voters chose between keeping FPP or changing to MMP. This time, 53.9% voted to change to MMP.

The first MMP election happened in 1996. The difference between votes and seats, measured by the Gallagher Index, dropped a lot. It went from an average of 11.10% between 1946 and 1993 to just 1.11% in 2005. In 2008, it went up to 5.21% because New Zealand First was not in Parliament. But in 2011, it was 2.53%.

Another referendum on the voting system was held with the 2011 general election on November 26, 2011. It asked voters if they wanted to keep MMP or change to another system. If they wanted to change, which of four systems did they prefer? The results showed 57.8% wanted to keep MMP. FPP was the preferred alternative system with 46.7% of the votes, though one-third of the votes in the second question were not filled out correctly.

Voter Turnout in New Zealand Elections

Voter turnout in New Zealand, 1879 to 2017

Stats NZ has information on how many people vote in national and local elections in New Zealand since 1981. While voter turnout in New Zealand has generally been going down, it has increased in the last three elections.

Should Voting Be Compulsory?

Fewer people voting has led to discussions among political experts. After the 2011 election, it was found that young, poor, and less educated people in New Zealand were less likely to vote. Professor Richard Shaw from Massey University says it is important for everyone's voices to be heard equally. If voting rates do not increase, there is a risk that unfairness affecting young and poor people will continue. Shaw notes that over time, people not voting can weaken the fairness of the political system.

Former Labour Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer supports making voting compulsory. In a 2017 interview, Palmer said that it is a basic part of democracy for people to have some required duties. Jim Bolger, a former National Prime Minister, agreed. He said voting should be a 'requirement of citizenship'. If voting became compulsory, it might be like the Australian system. In Australia, people who do not vote get a small fine.

While the idea of compulsory voting has gained some support, current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she is unsure. She believes forcing people to vote is not an effective way to get them more involved in democracy.