Format of MMP referendum takes shape

Format of MMP referendum takes shape

Further details about the referendum on the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP) voting system to be held in 2011, have been announced today by Justice Minister Simon Power.

In October 2009, Mr Power announced the Government's decisions on the timing and process for the 2011 MMP referendum, which honours a pre-election promise to hold a referendum no later than 2011.

The referendum, to be held in conjunction with the general election, will ask voters two questions. Firstly, whether they wish to retain the present MMP voting system, and secondly, what alternative voting system they would prefer from a list of options, regardless of how they voted in the first question.

The options are First-Past-the-Post, Preferential Vote, Single Transferable Vote and Supplementary Member.

 "The exact wording of the questions is crucial to the success of the referendum. The bill empowering the referendum, including the questions will be subject to public scrutiny through the select committee process," Mr Power says.

The bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament in April.

If a majority of voters opts for a change to the voting system, the Government will hold a second binding referendum in conjunction with the 2014 election, asking voters to choose between MMP and the most preferred alternative.

"Five general elections have now been held under MMP and it's timely to consider how the voting system is working. This is an important issue for New Zealand and it cannot be rushed."

The bill also provides that if a majority of voters opt to retain MMP, then a review of MMP will be held by the new Electoral Commission, due to be operational by October this year. The review will seek public opinion on MMP and report to the Minister of Justice on whether any changes to the MMP voting system are necessary or desirable. 

"I'm aware that many people would like to retain MMP with some changes.  The Government has carefully considered how to incorporate those concerns into the referendum process.  If there is support to retain MMP as a voting system, there will be a review to see how MMP can be improved."

The Government has previously announced that a public information campaign will be held to inform voters about the referendum. Cabinet has decided that the new Electoral Commission will undertake this information campaign. 

"The new Electoral Commission will be ideally placed to provide information to the public on the MMP referendum and the alternative voting systems. The commission is independent from the Government."

The estimated cost of holding the 2011 referendum is $10.97 million, which includes the cost of administering the referendum and conducting the public information campaign.

"I welcome robust public discussion on the referendum as the bill progresses through the select committee process," Mr Power says.

Further information including the Cabinet papers and the Regulatory Impact Statement can be found at:

http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/electoral/mmp-referendum/mmp-referendum 

Frequently Asked Questions  

These frequently asked questions supplement an earlier set of frequently asked questions.  The first set of questions can be found at http://justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/electoral .

What are the proposed referendum questions, which will be subject to public scrutiny through the select committee process?

There are two parts to the referendum. A voter can choose to answer both of the questions, or only the first question, or only the second question. Voters will tick the option they prefer.

The proposed questions are:

Part A: Should the current MMP voting system be retained?

• I vote to retain the MMP voting system
• I vote to change to another voting system

Part B: Regardless of how you voted under Part A, if there was a change to another voting system, which voting system would you choose?

• I would choose the First Past the Post system (FPP)
• I would choose the Preferential Voting system (PV)
• I would choose the Single Transferable Vote system (STV)

• I would choose the Supplementary Member system (SM)

This two-question approach is consistent with how the referendum was conducted in 1992.

The Government has received the support of the Electoral Commission over the wording of the questions.

Why are these voting systems to be put to voters?

The 2011 referendum builds on the referendum process held in 1992 and 1993.  The voting systems listed in the second question are based on those put to voters in the 1992 referendum on voting systems. 

The voting systems were chosen in 1992 after careful consideration of the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Electoral System, Towards a Better Democracy.  This report provides an excellent basis for comparing voting systems. 

Descriptions of the new voting systems:

First-Past-the-Post (FPP)[1]

Under First-Past-the-Post, voters have one vote for an electorate candidate.  Each electorate elects one candidate to represent them in Parliament.  The winning candidate in each electorate is the one who gains the most votes, that is, a simple majority. 

Preferential Vote (PV)

Under Preferential Vote, voters rank the candidates in their electorate in their order of preference.  Each electorate elects one candidate to represent them in Parliament.  The winning candidate in each electorate must have over 50% of the votes cast, that is, an absolute majority.  If no candidate has an absolute majority then the candidate with the lowest number of first preference votes is eliminated and that candidates second preference votes are redistributed. This redistribution continues until a candidate has an absolute majority.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)[2]

Under Single Transferable Vote, voters rank the candidates in their electorate in their order of preference.  Each electorate elects a number of candidates to represent them in Parliament.  The winning candidate in each electorate must have over a certain percentage of the votes cast, depending on the number of candidates to be elected.  Any candidate who has over the required percentage is elected.  If there are vacancies, the first preference votes of the elected candidates above the required percentage are redistributed according to voters' second preferences.  If there are still vacancies after redistributing the excess votes, then the votes of the candidate with the lowest number of first preference votes are redistributed according to the second preferences of the voters for that candidate.  This redistribution continues until enough candidates have reached the required percentage.

Supplementary Member (SM)

Under Supplementary Member, voters may have either one or two votes. The first vote is for an electorate candidate, who is elected in the same way as First-Past-the-Post.  There are also supplementary seats, which may be allocated through either a second vote for a party list, or allocated in proportion to the total number of votes received nationwide by that party's electorate candidates.  Only the supplementary seats are allocated in proportion to the number of votes received through the party vote or the nationwide electorate vote.  Therefore, the total number of electorate seats and supplementary seats held by a party might not be in proportion to the total number of votes received by that party.

How will the public be informed of the new voting systems?

The new Electoral Commission will undertake a public information campaign that will explain the details of the alternative voting systems.

Legislation must be passed to authorise the 2011 referendum because there is no current law authorising a referendum to be held with a general election.  An outline of the alternative voting systems will be included in that legislation.

Have all parliamentary parties been consulted?

All parliamentary parties have been consulted on the referendum. It is our intention that all parliamentary parties will also be represented on a special select committee which will consider the legislation, along with the electoral finance reform package. We will continue to work with all parliamentary parties to achieve as broad support for the legislation as possible.

What about changing the size of the House or the Māori seats?

For the purposes of the 2011 referendum, two aspects of New Zealand's electoral system will remain the same in the descriptions of each of the voting systems.  The referendum is not proposing any voting systems that change the size of the House or the provisions relating to the Māori seats:

• the size of the House will be at least 120 members.  Some of the voting systems have a fixed number of seats (eg, MMP, subject to the overhang), while other voting systems are population based (eg, FPP), but all voting systems will have at least 120 members.
• there will be no change from the current provisions for the Māori seats.  The number of Māori seats is based on the number of Māori voters on the Māori electoral roll.

What happens after the 2011 referendum if there is a vote to change the voting system?

The 2011 referendum is indicative.  This Government has committed to holding a second, binding referendum in conjunction with the 2014 general election if a majority of voters opts for a change to the voting system in the 2011 referendum. 

The second referendum, if it goes ahead, will ask voters to choose between MMP and the preferred alternative voting system (selected in the second question of the 2011 referendum).

What happens after the 2011 referendum if there is a vote to retain the voting system?

The bill will provide that if a majority of voters opts to retain MMP, the new Electoral Commission (which will be operational in October 2010) will review and seek public views on MMP.  The review will be triggered as soon as there's a clear result. The Electoral Commission will then report to the Minister of Justice on whether any changes to the MMP voting system are necessary or desirable. 

Why isn't a review of MMP being held before the 2011 referendum?

Many people would like to retain MMP with some changes.  The Government has carefully considered how to incorporate those concerns into the referendum process and has decided to put the time and effort into a review after the 2011 referendum only if a majority of voters opts to retain MMP.

A review process could be confused with the public information campaign for the 2011 referendum and public discussion in the lead up to the referendum. In addition, there is not enough time before the 2011 referendum to undertake a thorough review process. 

How will the referendum be administered?

The bill will provide that the referendum will be administered by the new Electoral Commission in accordance with rules set out in the empowering legislation.  These rules include technical provisions about, for example, who can vote, how they can vote, the role of election officials, and how the vote is counted and officially reported.

Are there any rules around advertising for or against any of the referendum options?

The bill will provide that anyone advertising for or against any of the referendum options will need to include their name and address on the advertisement.

In addition, if an advertiser spends, or intends to spend, over $12,000 during the regulated period, they will need to register with the Electoral Commission.  The Electoral Commission will publish a list of advertisers.  An advertiser will not be required to provide returns of their expenses or funding sources to the Electoral Commission, nor will they be subject to spending limits.

This goes further than the advertising rules in place for the 1992, 1993 and 1997 referendums, where there was no cap on spending, and no need to register with the Electoral Commission. All that was needed was a promoter statement.

The regulated period will begin when the Electoral Commission's public information campaign begins, approximately three months before the 2011 referendum.

The intention of these rules is to provide transparency about who is advertising in respect of the referendum, without restricting advertisers' freedom of expression.

How is the risk of holding a referendum and general election on the same day being addressed?

The Chief Electoral Office has identified potential risks in holding a referendum and general election on the same day: voter confusion, congestion and delays in the polling place and risk to the timely and accurate count of the preliminary general election vote.  These risks are being addressed in a variety of ways, including training polling place staff to assist with voter confusion and congestion, and prioritising the general election count over the referendum count, as required by the Electoral Act 1993.

How can the public be involved?

The public will be able to provide input on the matters contained in the Electoral Referendum Bill, which is needed to authorise the 2011 referendum, through the select committee process.

There will also be the public information campaign, which will be undertaken by the Electoral Commission in the months leading up to the referendum.  This campaign will provide information about the referendum and the details of the alternative voting systems. It is intended that this campaign will stimulate public debate and raise awareness about the referendum.  There are likely to be public debates in which people can participate.

What other electoral reform is under way at the moment?

There are two projects under way: the electoral finance reform project and the project to establish an integrated electoral agency.  The Government has just announced its proposals for amending the rules around electoral campaigning and political party funding.  In October 2009, the Government introduced a bill into the House to integrate the Electoral Commission and the Chief Electoral Office.  More information about these projects can be found at http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/electoral.

How does the referendum relate to these other electoral reforms?

The electoral finance reform and the establishment of an integrated electoral agency are on track to be operational and in force for the 2011 general election.  Holding a referendum with the 2011 general election will not affect those processes.

The regulation of referendum advertising is consistent with the regulation of parallel campaigning in the electoral finance reform.

More information

Information on the MMP referendum can be found at http://justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/electoral.  This will be regularly updated.

More information about how referenda and elections are run in New Zealand can be found at www.elections.org.nz.

[1] NB First-Past-the-Post was the voting system in New Zealand prior to the referendum in 1993 on the voting system, where MMP was chosen as the new voting system.

[2] NB this system of voting is used for district health board elections and local council elections in a number of cities, including Wellington.