default-output-block.skip-main
National | Elections

General roll grows more than Māori roll in electoral option

More than twenty-three thousand Māori have changed rolls or enrolled to vote during this Māori electoral option. The results, released today, will be used by Statistics New Zealand to calculate the number of Māori and general electorates for the next two elections.

There are twelve hundred more people are on the Māori Roll and four thousand more on the general.

Electoral Commission spokesperson Mandy Bohté, “We've been everywhere talking to people in the community, we've had trusted people from within those communities talking to people and raising that awareness and there's been some really good conversations and great feedback from the community about it so we're very happy with the way the campaigns gone."

Eighteen thousand switched rolls and Bohté says the option won't come around again until 2024.

"You know the choice you made through this campaign will decide who you're going to vote for, whether it be an MP from a Māori electorate or an MP from a general electorate for the next two general elections."

That brings the number of voters on the Māori role to 247,000. The results of the option, along with information from the Census will determine the number of Māori and general electorates.

"They are really complex calculations and there are many different things happening in those calculations so that would be up to Stats NZ to work those out."

The number of electorates is expected to be released next March.