April 13, 2018
Big switch needed for extra Maori seat
It could be a hard ask to get another Maori seat out of this year’s Maori electoral option, and there is also a chance of losing a seat.
Maori voters have been sent packs giving them the option of switching between the Maori and general rolls, and there is also encouragement for people who are not enrolled to sign up.
Mandy Bohte from the Electoral Commission says once the option closes in August a calculation will be made using census data and the number of voters in each of the South Island’s 16 fixed seats, which sets the size for the rest of the electorates.
Statistics New Zealand has prepared some estimates of what is needed for change.
"The number of seats could increase if we have about 27,000 people change from the general roll to the Maori roll or we have about 64,000 people enrolling for the first time on the Maori roll or a mix of both. The number of seats could decrease if about 10,800 Maori change from the Maori roll to the general roll or about 21,000 Maori enrolling for the first time go on the general roll or a mix of both," she says.
The number of Maori seats increased after the law that bought in the MMP voting system linked them to population rather then fixing them at four, but they number has been stable on seven for the past two electoral options.
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