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Former Labour MP Dover Samuels says low turnout is a sign of the dismay Labour voters feel about the party.
Just over 77 percent of voters turned out on Saturday, less than 3 percent more than 2011’s historically low total.
The million people who didn’t vote are as many as those who voted for National.
The picture was even worse in the Maori seats.
The best turnout was in Te Tai Tokerau, where the contest between eventual winner Kelvin Davis and incumbent Hone Harawira drew 55 percent of potential voters, but in Tamaki Makaurau only 49 percent made the effort.
Mr Samuels says it means a lot of people who voted for Labour in the past stayed home.
"They didn’t vote for our party, they didn't turn up to vote. They didn't walk away from Labour but Labour walked away from them," he says.
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