Electoral (Adjustment of Thresholds) Amendment Bill 2013 (Member’s Bill)

Election of other members

Section 191 of the Act provides that after an election, when the Electoral Commission has received from all Returning Officers the following information (under Section 179(1)):

• the total number of valid votes received by each of the parties listed on the party vote part of the ballot paper;

• the total number of valid votes received by each constituency candidate;

• the total number of informal party votes;

the Electoral Commission must then determine which candidates included in party lists (under Section 127 of the Act) are elected. Firstly, the total number of all the party votes received by each of the parties listed on the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote are ascertained.

Section 191(4) provides that the Electoral Commission must disregard any total under the name of any party that:

• does not achieve a total that is at least 5% of the total number of all the party votes received by all the parties listed on the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote; and

• is a party in respect of which no constituency candidate who is, in general terms, a candidate for that party is declared to be elected as a member of Parliament.

Where the Electoral Commission disregards the name of a party as above, that party is deemed to be deleted from the list of parties included in the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote.

Effects of law

The party that falls below 5 percent in the party vote and does not win at least one electoral seat therefore has no representation in Parliament.

The proponent of the Bill has given an example of the effects of the 5 percent threshold law as follows:

“ …. in the 2008 election when the then ACT Leader Rodney Hide won the Epsom seat and with 3.6% of the party vote brought in 4 ACT list MPs. New Zealand First on the other hand won 4.1% of the party vote but did not win an electorate seat, so ended up having no MPs”. [1]  

Electoral Commission view

In its 2012 review of the MMP system, the Electoral Commission made the following recommendations:

“The party vote threshold is the mechanism by which the competing objectives of proportionality, on the one hand, and effective Parliaments and stable governments, on the other, are balanced. At 5%, it is higher than it needs to be to strike the right balance. It could be lowered to 4% without any risk to effectiveness or stability and this is what we recommend be done. It could arguably be lowered to 3%, on the basis of previous MMP results, without significant risk. But this, a massive 40% reduction from the current threshold, would be a step too far at this stage. It may be in time that a 4% threshold proves to be higher than it needs to be. For this reason, the Commission proposes it be required to review and report on the new threshold after three general elections. This is an area in which New Zealand should move cautiously and incrementally.

“The one electorate seat threshold should go. An exception to the party vote threshold, it is not a necessary feature of the MMP system. Whilst it does increase the proportionality of Parliament, it does so in an arbitrary and inconsistent way that would be better achieved by lowering the party vote threshold. Its effect has been to undermine the principles of fairness and equity and the primacy of the party vote in determining the overall composition of Parliament that underpin MMP. It gives voters in some electorates significantly more influence over the make-up of Parliament than voters in other electorates. It causes excessive focus to be placed on a few electorates and distorts election campaigning.

“Abolishing the one electorate seat threshold would increase the chances of significant numbers of overhang seats being generated by parties that win electorate seats but do not cross the party vote threshold. Therefore, if the one electorate seat threshold is abolished, we also recommend the provision for overhang seats be abolished. Parties that win electorate seats would keep those seats. However, the size of Parliament would remain at 120 seats because no extra list seats would be allocated. This would have minimal impact on the proportionality of Parliament.

“We have carefully considered the impact our recommendations would have on government formation and stability. Parliamentarians to date have shown the capacity to form stable minority or majority governments under MMP. Having examined past MMP election results and other evidence, we are confident this would continue to be the case.

“A single 4% party vote threshold would strike the right balance, enhance the legitimacy of the MMP voting system and New Zealand’s democracy, and maintain effective Parliaments and stable governments.” [2]  

Purpose

The purpose of the Bill is stated to be “to adjust the party vote thresholds” (Clause 4).

Election of other members

Section 191(4) of the Act at present reads:

“The Electoral Commission must disregard any total under the name of any party that—

• (a) has not achieved a total that is at least 5% of the total number of all the party votes received by all the parties listed on the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote; and

• (b) is a party in respect of which no constituency candidate who is either—

• • (i) a candidate for that party; or

• • (ii) a candidate for a component party of that party (being a component party that is not listed on the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote but is, in accordance with the details held by the Electoral Commission under any of the provisions of sections 127(3A) and 128A, a component party of that party)—

has had his or her name endorsed on the writ pursuant to section 185 as a person declared to be elected as a member of Parliament.”

The Bill replaces this subsection (4) with the following:

“The Electoral Commission must disregard any total under the name of any party that has not achieved a total that is at least 4% of the total number of all the party votes received by all the parties listed on the part of the ballot paper that relates to the party vote.”

(Clause 5, amending Section 191 of the Electoral Act 1993 by substituting subsection (4)).

Review of party threshold provisions

The Bill requires the Electoral Commission to review the 4 percent threshold as soon as practicable after three general elections. The purpose of the review is to:

• determine through a public consultative process whether changes are necessary or desirable; and

• prepare a report of the review including any recommendations for changes to the Minister of Justice.

The report is to be presented to the House of Representatives by the Minister of Justice as soon as practicable after he or she receives it (Clause 6, inserting New Section 9B into the Act).

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