The table below provides date and participation information for each New Zealand general election. See the Electoral Commission website for the results of elections held since 1890 and for more detailed information on recent elections, including by–elections and referendums.
[1] From 1853 to 1879 general elections took place over a period of weeks or months. As many members were returned unopposed in these years, the range of dates given covers both nomination day and (where required) the day of polling. From 1881 a single day was specified for voting in all general (European) seats, although Māori voting was held on a different day. Since 1951 elections in general and Māori seats have taken place on the same day, and always on a Saturday.
[2] Between 1868 and 1879 dates are given for both nomination and (if required) polling in the four Māori seats. At the first elections in 1868 three of the four members were elected on nomination day (15 Apr), two without opposition and one by show of hands; the fourth was returned in a poll on 6 May. From 1881 only the day of Māori polling is given.
[3] From 1868 includes Māori MPs.
[4] Includes electors enrolled in uncontested seats, who are excluded when calculating turnout (note that all seats have been contested since 1943). Figures from 1860-1 to 1879 exclude gold miners, who were entitled to vote without registration. In 1864 there were 11,838 males aged over 21 on the Otago goldfields, while in 1869-70 20,300 miners throughout New Zealand were entitled to vote under this provision. Māori are excluded until 1951. Rolls for the Māori seats were not compiled until 1949, and those used for that election were clearly incomplete (more votes were cast than electors enrolled). If the official figures for Māori were included, the 1949 turnout would be 94.6%.
[5] Uncontested seats are excluded. Māori are excluded until 1951. Note that the method of calculating official turnout has changed several times: until 1954 it was valid votes plus informal votes as a percentage of total enrolled electors; from 1957 to 1978 valid votes plus informal votes as a percentage of total enrolled electors plus allowed special votes; from 1981 valid votes, informal votes and disallowed special votes as a percentage of total enrolled electors.
[6] Includes an estimated 485 electors enrolled in the New Plymouth, Grey & Bell and Omata electorates, for which figures are not available.
[7] The Second Ballot Act 1908 provided for second ballots (where required) to be held seven days after the first ballot except in ten large rural seats, where fourteen days was allowed. In 1908, 22 second ballots were held on 24 Nov and one (Bay of Plenty) on 1 Dec. At the 1911 election, all 30 second ballots were held seven days later. The Second Ballot Act, which did not apply to the Māori seats, was repealed in 1913. The figures for turnout in these years are for first ballots only.
[8] The figures for enrolled electors and turnout are for civilians only; an additional 92,934 military votes were cast.
[9] This figure is misleading because the electoral rolls in 1978 contained a large number of outdated and duplicate entries. If the 361,000 names deleted in 1979-80 are subtracted, the turnout was 79.9%.
