In the 2005 election, voter participation was 81 percent of all those enrolled, with 82 percent participation in the general electorates and 67 percent in Maori electorates.
By comparison, voter turnout in US Federal elections averages only 50-55 percent of eligible voters. Compulsory voting has been required in Australia since 1924 resulting in voter turnout averaging 95 percent of eligible voters in modern national elections.
2 comments:
Kia ora. The official figures miss out 500,000 voters overseas - and the enrolment rate goes down to a mediocre 79% if those of us offshore are eligible to vote. Email me at nikitin@keanewzealand.com for more info - and Kiwis offshore can go to www.everyvotecounts.co.nz to enrol and vote. In the last election, only 28,000 Kiwis voted from offshore - only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands eligible.
- Nikitin Sallee
Manager, Special Projects
Kea New Zealand (www.keanewzealand.com)
And to clarify ... Kiwis overseas can enrol online right up to a couple of days before the election. Go to www.everyvotecounts.co.nz for all the info. (The publicity about the rolls closing is for the "printed roll", which doesn't affect overseas voters.) Spread the word to all you potential NZ voters overseas! Cheers.
- Nikitin
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