Electoral Commission (New Zealand)
| Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri (Māori) | |
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| Crown entity overview | |
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| Formed | 1 October 2010 |
Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
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Crown entity executive |
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| Website | vote |
The Electoral Commission (Māori: Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with electoral laws, servicing the work of the Representation Commission, and the provision of advice, reports and public education on electoral matters. The commission also assists electoral agencies of other countries on a reciprocal basis with their electoral events.
Objective
[edit]The Electoral Act 1993 defines the objective of the Electoral Commission as
"to administer the electoral system impartially, efficiently, effectively, and in a way that –
- Facilitates participation in parliamentary democracy; and
- Promotes understanding of the electoral system; and
- Maintains confidence in the administration of the electoral system"[1]
Functions
[edit]The functions of the Electoral Commission are defined by law and in summary comprise:
- Preparation and conduct of general elections, by-elections, and referendums
- Allocating government monies to registered political parties for radio and television broadcasting
- Promoting public awareness of electoral matters through education and information programmes
- Giving advice to the minister and the House of Representatives on electoral matters referred to the commission
- Making available information to assist political parties, candidates, and third parties to meet their statutory obligations in respect of electoral matters administered by the commission
- Compiling and maintaining electoral rolls (from 1 July 2012)
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 New Zealand portal |
Independence
[edit]The Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity. The responsible minister may not direct the commission to give effect to, or have regard to, government policy.
In addition:
- the governor-general appoints and removes electoral commissioners on the recommendation of the House of Representatives
- the Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to act independently in performing its statutory duties and functions and exercising its powers
- the Electoral Commission may provide information and advice to the minister of justice or the House of Representatives at any time and of its own volition
Board members
[edit]The Electoral Commission board has six members, appointed by the governor-general, including one member as the chairperson, one member as the deputy chairperson and the chief electoral officer, who is the chief executive of the Electoral Commission.[2]
In June 2026 it was announced that the Electoral Commission board had expanded from three to six members.[3] The three new members, David O'Connor, Murray Jack, and Sue Elliott, are serving three year terms, which began in May 2026.[4]
| Position | Name | Portrait | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Simon Moore | .jpg) |
18 November 2024[5] |
| Deputy chair | Jane Meares | .jpg) |
19 August 2019[6] |
| Chief electoral officer | Karl Le Quesne | .jpg) |
21 April 2022[7] |
| Board member | David O'Connor | 22 May 2026[4][8] | |
| Board member | Murray Jack | 22 May 2026[4][8] | |
| Board member | Sue Elliott | .jpg) |
22 May 2026[4][8] |
Electoral events conducted by the Electoral Commission
[edit]History
[edit]Formation
[edit]The Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill, passed unanimously by Parliament on 19 May 2010, established a new independent Electoral Commission which was given overarching responsibility to administer elections.
The Electoral Commission, which took over the responsibilities of the Chief Electoral Office and the previous Electoral Commission, was formed on 1 October 2010.
On 1 July 2012, the statutory responsibilities of the Electoral Enrolment Centre of NZ Post were transferred to the commission in accordance with the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011.
Previous incarnation
[edit]The previous Electoral Commission of New Zealand (1993–2010) was a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country's electoral system. It was an independent Crown entity, not part of any larger department or Ministry, and was established under the Electoral Act 1993. It worked alongside two other bodies, the Chief Electoral Office and the Electoral Enrolment Centre.
The four primary functions of the previous Electoral Commission were:
- Registration of political parties – The commission was responsible for scrutinising and approving all changes to the electoral register. A place on the register allowed parties to contest the party vote in general elections. Unregistered parties could put forward individual candidates, but could not receive votes for proportional representation under the mixed-member proportional representation system. The commission must have been satisfied that such a party met the requirements for registration, such as having 500 financial members.
- Allocating broadcasting funding – Political parties were given state funding for any broadcasting they conducted in an election campaign. The commission was responsible for dividing money between the various parties, taking into account a party's membership, current number of MPs, previous election performance, and current polling. The commission also supervised the actual payment of this funding.
- Supervision of financial declarations – To ensure transparency, parties were required to submit records showing how much money they received as donations and how much money they spent campaigning. The commission supervised this process.
- Public education – The commission was the primary body charged with ensuring strong public awareness of how elections in New Zealand work.
For most business, the previous Electoral Commission consisted of four members – a president, a chief executive, the head of the Ministry of Justice, and the chief judge of the Māori Land Court.
Two additional members, one appointed by the Government and one by the opposition, participated in the commission, e.g. on the allocation of broadcasting funds. This participation was generally condemned by smaller parties, which claimed that Labour and National unfairly monopolised funding. These additional members were removed by Labour through the Electoral Finance Act 2007 (EFA); but the Act was repealed by National in 2009, with clauses of the EFA dealing with donation disclosure inserted into the 1993 Electoral Act.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Electoral Act 1993". Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ↑ "Electoral Commission board". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ↑ "New board members". Electoral Commission. 10 June 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Our leadership". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
- ↑ "Hon Justice Simon Moore KC named as new chair". Electoral Commission. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ↑ "Appointment of Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ↑ "Appointment of Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Appointment of members of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
