Compulsory voting has boosted turnout in Australia – is it time NZ tried it? |
New Zealand has a voter turnout problem. Although enrolment is compulsory for all eligible voters, casting a ballot is optional. And the number of people voting has been falling in both general and local body elections since the 1980s.
Enrolment is high, however, hitting 94.7% at the 2023 general election, the highest rate since 2008. But only 77.5% of those enrolled cast a ballot, considerably below 20th century averages, which hovered around 85%.
Participation among younger voters was even lower: 74.17% of 18–24 year olds, and 69.1% of those aged 25–29. Turnout in Māori electorates was 68%.
Older voters, by contrast, are far more likely to participate. In 2023, 84.94% over 60s turned out – meaning they had a much greater influence on who formed the government.
When almost a quarter of enrolled voters – 22.49%, or 829,326 people – don’t vote, there is a real risk that governments don’t accurately reflect society.
Low voter turnout can skew other outcomes, too. For example, the Brexit referendum that led to Britain leaving the European Union was based on just a 72% turnout rate.
But while research suggests compulsory voting can be a “cost-efficient institutional remedy” to low turnout, we would need to carefully weigh up the costs and benefits before implementing it in New Zealand.
Voting as a community event
It’s compulsory to vote in around 13% of the world’s democracies, including ten of the 30 OECD countries.
Australia celebrated a century of compulsory........