New Zealand is divided into voting areas called electorates. When you enrol to vote, you’re enrolled in the electorate where you live.
During a general election or a by-election, you vote for a candidate to represent your electorate in Parliament. The candidate who wins the most votes becomes your local member of Parliament.
During a general election, you also vote for the party you want to be in government.
Each electorate has roughly the same number of people
While each electorate has about the same number of people, the geographic size of each area may be different. For example, an electorate in a rural area might take up a larger area of land than an electorate in a city where people live closer together. However, both electorates will still have about the same number of people.
New Zealand has two types of electorates: general and Māori
Everywhere in New Zealand is covered by both a general electorate and a Māori electorate.
New Zealand currently has 65 general electorates and seven Māori electorates.
Voters of Māori descent can be in a general or Māori electorate
If you’re of Māori descent, you can choose to vote in the Māori electorate where you live or the general electorate. You make this choice when you first enrol to vote. You choose to be on either the Māori roll or the general roll.
Once you’ve chosen a roll, you can only change rolls during the Māori Electoral Option.
Find your electorate
Each electorate has a boundary showing its area. All you need to find your electorate is your address.
The number of electorates and their boundaries can change
The number of electorates and their boundaries are reviewed every 5 years to make sure that the number of people in each electorate is about the same. After a review, the number of electorates and their boundaries can change.