New Zealand electorates

The Electoral Act 1993 refers to electorates as "electoral districts".[2] Electorates are informally referred to as "seats" (Māori: tūru), but technically the term seat refers to an elected member's place in Parliament.[3][n 1]

As of 2018 the Representation Commission determines electorate boundaries.[4] The Commission consists of:

• Four government officials—the Government Statistician, the Surveyor-General, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.
• A representative of the governing party or coalition, and a representative of the opposition bloc.
• A chairperson (often a judge) nominated by the other members (with the exception of Chairperson of the Local Government Commission).[4]

The Representation Commission reviews electorate boundaries after each New Zealand census, which normally occurs every five years.[2] The South Island is guaranteed to have 16 general electorates, and dividing the number of persons in the South Island's general electoral population by 16 determines the South Island Quota which is then used to help calculate the number of Māori electorates and to determine the number of North Island electorates. The number of Māori electorates is influenced by the Māori Electoral Option where Māori voters can opt to be in either a Māori electorate or a general electorate. The percentage of Māori voters opting for the Māori roll determines the percentage of the whole Māori population (of persons claiming Māori ancestry at the previous census) which is then divided by the South Island Quota to calculate the number of Māori electorates. South Island Māori opting for the general roll are included in the population on which the South Island Quota is established. The North Island population (including Māori opting for the general roll) is divided into electorates, each of approximately the same population as the South Island ones.[5] Electorates may vary by no more than 5% of the average population size.[2] This has caused the number of list seats in Parliament to decline as the population is experiencing "northern drift" (i.e. the population of the North Island, especially around Auckland, is growing faster than that of the South Island) due both to internal migration and to immigration.[6]

Although the New Zealand Parliament is intended to have 120 members, some terms have exceeded this quantity. Overhang seats arise when a party win more seats via electorates than their proportion of the party vote entitles them to; other parties are still awarded the same number of seats that they are entitled to, which results in more than 120 seats in total.[7] In 2005 and 2011, 121 members were elected; 122 members were elected in 2008.[8]

The Representation Commission determines the names of each electorate following the most recent census.[4] An electorate may be named after a geographic region, landmark (e.g. a mountain) or main population area. The Commission adopts compass point names when there is not a more suitable name. The compass point reference usually follows the name of the main population centre, e.g. Hamilton East.

Over the years, there have been two types of "special" electorates created for particular communities. The first were special goldminers' electorates, created for participants in the Otago Goldrush—goldminers did not usually meet the residency and property requirements in the electorate they were prospecting in, but were numerous enough to warrant political representation. Two goldminers' electorates existed, the first began in 1863 and both ended in 1870.

General electorates since 2020, showing the 2020 election results

Electoral districts in the 2020 general election for the 53rd Parliament reflect changes made in the Representation Commission’s 2019/2020 boundary review. As well as new boundaries for many districts, the names of ten electorates have been changed, and one new electorate (Takanini) has been created.[17] While some changes were made to the boundaries of the Māori electorates, their names and general area remain the same as in the 52nd Parliament.

Māori electorates

Māori Electorates since the 2020 election. Red represent Labour seats; brown represents Māori Party seats.

Electorate	Region	Namesake/translation	MP	Party
Te Tai Tokerau	Northland and Auckland	"northern district"	Kelvin Davis		Labour
Tāmaki Makaurau	Auckland	Auckland (Māori name)	Peeni Henare		Labour
Hauraki-Waikato	Auckland and Waikato	Hauraki Gulf and Waikato River	Nanaia Mahuta		Labour
Waiariki	Bay of Plenty and Waikato	"chiefly waters"	Rawiri Waititi		Māori
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti	Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington	long (roa) eastern (rāwhiti) electorate of the North Island/Te Ika-a-Māui	Meka Whaitiri		Independent
Te Tai Hauāuru	Taranaki, Waikato, Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington	"western district"	Adrian Rurawhe		Labour
Te Tai Tonga	The South Island, Wellington and the Chatham Islands	"southern district"	Rino Tirikatene		Labour

• Electoral profiles, produced by the Parliamentary Library, New Zealand Parliament.
• Map of electorates with boundaries, produced by the Parliamentary Library, run by the Electoral Commission, the Electoral Enrolment Centre, the Representation Commission, and the Justice Sector.