Voters feel poorly informed on MMP alternatives

74% of New Zealanders want the Electoral Commission to send them more information about alternative voting systems to MMP before casting their votes on electoral reform in just 10 weeks’ time.

Some 38.6% of 2,571 voters polled by Horizon Research say they will vote to keep MMP, 33% will vote to change to a different system and 28.4% are undecided.

If a majority vote not to keep MMP it will be put to another vote in 2014 against four other alternative systems.

However, the Horizon poll finds 64% say they are not well enough informed or not informed at all on Preferential voting (64%); Single Transferable Vote (62.2%) and

Supplementary Member (71.3%). Only on the former electoral system, First Past the Post, do a majority (58.1%) feel informed or well informed, while 28% feel ill-informed on it.

Asked if they would like the electoral Commission to send them information about the alternative voting systems to MMP, 74.2% say yes, 25.8% no.

Slightly more women (76.4%) than men (72.1%) want more information.

Demand is highest among those aged 75+ (79%) and 45-54 years (78.5%); among business managers and executives (80.2%) and professionals and senior government officials (80%) and technical, mechanical and skilled workers (78.2%).

Among those who voted in 2008, 86.4% of United Future voters want the information, along with 78.3% of New Zealand First, 76.8% of National, 77.8% of Labour and 70% of Green parties’ voters.

The undecided group could decide if MMP is put to another vote against an alternative system in 2014.

It comprises large numbers of women (37.5% ), 35-44 year-olds (44.3%), homemakers otherwise not employed (42.9%), unemployed and beneficiaries (37.5%) and teachers, nurses, police and other trained service workers (36.6%).

FFP the post in the most preferred electoral system currently if there is a 2014 run-off vote against MMP.  However, in another reflection of the need for more information, 46.8% say they still don’t know when faced with the four alternative systems.

If more than half the voters opt to change from MMP, which of these four other voting systems would you choose?

41.3% think MMP has been better than FFP, 28.8% think it has been worse, while 10.3% think it about the same and 19.8% don’t know.

Overall, do you think MMP has been better or worse than the First Past the Post (FPP) system it replaced?

The weighted poll was conducted between September 12 and 23

Results are weighted by age, gender, personal income, ethnicity, region and party vote 2008 to provide a representative population sample and has a maximum margin of +/- 1.9%.

For further detail please contact Horizon Research Manager Grant McInman.