How voting works in New Zealand’s 2026 general election

If you’re voting for the first time, the most important thing to know is this: you get two votes, and each one does a different job.

New Zealand uses a system called MMP. That stands for Mixed Member Proportional, but you don’t need to remember the name to understand how it works.

Your two votes help decide both which local person represents your area and how many seats each political party gets in Parliament.

1. What are your two votes for?

Vote 1: Your electorate vote

This is for a person who wants to represent your local area in Parliament.

• You choose one candidate on your electorate ballot paper.
• The candidate who gets the most votes wins that electorate seat.
• They do not need to get more than half of all votes; they just need more votes than any other candidate.

Think of this as choosing your local representative.

Vote 2: Your party vote

This is for the political party you want to have a say in Parliament.

• You choose one political party on your party ballot paper.
• The share of party votes each eligible party receives largely determines how many seats it gets in Parliament.
• A party can win seats even if it doesn't win any local electorate seats.

Think of this as helping decide the overall balance of parties in Parliament.

Your votes do not have to be for the same party. For example, you could choose a candidate from one party for your electorate vote and a different party for your party vote. That's allowed.

2. Why have two votes instead of one?

Imagine an election where a party wins lots of local seats but gets only 40% of the votes across the country. If local winners were the only thing that mattered, the makeup of Parliament might not reflect how the country as a whole voted.

MMP is designed to make Parliament's overall makeup more closely match the party votes people cast. It does this by combining local electorate MPs with MPs chosen from party lists. What happens in a general election?What is our MMP voting system?

Here's a simple example using made-up numbers.

Imagine 100 people vote in a fictional election.

Party A

40 votes

Party B

35 votes

Party C

25 votes

The party vote gives Party A the most support, but it does not give Party A everyone's support. MMP aims to reflect those different levels of support in Parliament.

The point is that your party vote matters even if your preferred party doesn't win your local electorate.

3. How do parties get seats in Parliament?

There are two main ways someone becomes an MP (Member of Parliament):

• Electorate MPs: They win a local election.
• List MPs: They get a seat through their party's ranked list of candidates, based largely on the party's share of the nationwide party vote.

Under the current rules, a party generally qualifies for a share of seats if it gets at least 5% of the party vote or wins at least one electorate seat. What is our MMP voting system?What happens in a general election?

A party that receives 20% of the party vote would generally be entitled to around 20% of Parliament's seats, subject to the electoral rules. The electorate seats it has already won count towards that total; its party list helps fill the remaining seats.

4. How is the government chosen?

Voting doesn't directly elect the Prime Minister. Instead, voters elect MPs, and the number of seats parties win helps determine which party or group of parties can form a government.

• If one party has enough seats to command a majority, it may govern alone.
• If no party has enough seats, two or more parties may negotiate an agreement to govern together. This is often called a coalition or a support arrangement.
• Smaller parties can therefore play a role in deciding which government is formed.

A party winning the most seats does not automatically mean it can govern alone. What is our MMP voting system?Explainer: What is New Zealand's MMP electoral system and does it favour coalitions?

5. What will you actually do when you vote?

Step 1: Check you're enrolled

The 2026 general election is on Saturday 7 November 2026. For this election, you must enrol by midnight on Sunday 25 October. Check your details at Vote NZ. What to doWhat happens in a general election?

Step 2: Go to a voting place

Voting opens before election day, so you can vote in advance. You don't need photo ID. Take your EasyVote card if you have one, but you can still vote without it. What to do

Step 3: Mark your two choices

On your voting paper, tick one circle for your preferred party and one for your preferred local candidate. You can ask election staff to explain the process, but your choices are private. What to do

Step 4: Put your paper in the ballot box

That's it. Your votes will be counted after voting closes. If you make a mistake, ask for a replacement voting paper before submitting it. What to do

6. How should you think about your choices?

You don't need to understand every political term or policy before you can vote. It can help to think about the two decisions separately:

• For your party vote: Which party's overall plans and priorities come closest to what you want for New Zealand?
• For your electorate vote: Which local candidate do you want representing your area, based on their views, experience and priorities?

You might choose the same party for both votes, or you might not. Neither approach is automatically the right one for everyone.

It's also fine to take your time comparing parties' policies on things that matter to you, such as housing, healthcare, the cost of living, education, the environment or taxes. You can look at what parties propose, how they explain paying for it, and what they have done in the past.

For reliable practical information, start with the official Vote NZ 2026 election guide.

The main thing to remember: one vote chooses your local representative; the other helps determine the overall balance of parties in Parliament. Both count, and you get to make each choice for yourself.