| Date of general election | Date of Māori election | Total no. of MPs | Total registered electors | Official turnout (%) | |
| 1853 | 14 Jul-1 Oct | 37 | 5,849 | ||
| 1855 | 26 Oct-28 Dec | 37 | 9,891 | ||
| 1860-1 | 12 Dec-28 Mar | 53 | 13,196 | ||
| 1866 | 12 Feb-6 Apr | 70 | 29,320 | ||
| 1868 | 15 Apr, 6 May | 76 | |||
| 1871 | 14 Jan-23 Feb | 1, 15 Feb | 78 | 41,527 | |
| 1875-6 | 20 Dec-29 Jan | 4, 15 Jan | 88 | 56,471 | |
| 1879 | 28 Aug-15 Sep | 1, 8 Sep | 88 | 82,271 | 66.5 |
| 1881 | 9 Dec (Fri) | 8 Dec (Thu) | 95 | 120,972 | 66.5 |
| 1884 | 22 Jul (Tue) | 21 Jul (Mon) | 95 | 137,686 | 60.6 |
| 1887 | 26 Sep (Mon) | 7 Sep (Wed) | 95 | 175,410 | 67.1 |
| 1890 | 5 Dec (Fri) | 27 Nov (Wed) | 74 | 183,171 | 80.4 |
| 1893 | 28 Nov (Tue) | 20 Dec (Wed) | 74 | 302,997 | 75.3 |
| 1896 | 4 Dec (Wed) | 19 Dec (Thu) | 74 | 337,024 | 76.1 |
| 1899 | 6 Dec (Wed) | 19 Dec (Tue) | 74 | 373,744 | 77.6 |
| 1902 | 25 Nov (Tue) | 22 Dec (Mon) | 80 | 415,789 | 76.7 |
| 1905 | 6 Dec (Wed) | 20 Dec (Wed) | 80 | 476,473 | 83.3 |
| 1908 | 17, 24 Nov & 1 Dec (Tue) | 2 Dec (Wed) | 80 | 537,003 | 79.8 |
| 1911 | 7, 14 Dec (Thu) | 19 Dec (Tue) | 80 | 590,042 | 83.5 |
| 1914 | 10 Dec (Thu) | 11 Dec (Fri) | 80 | 616,043 | 84.7 |
| 1919 | 17 Dec (Wed) | 16 Dec (Tue) | 80 | 683,420 | 80.5 |
| 1922 | 7 Dec (Tue) | 6 Dec (Mon) | 80 | 700,111 | 88.7 |
| 1925 | 4 Nov (Wed) | 3 Nov (Tue) | 80 | 754,113 | 90.9 |
| 1928 | 14 Nov (Wed) | 13 Nov (Tue) | 80 | 844,633 | 88.1 |
| 1931 | 2 Dec (Wed) | 1 Dec (Tue) | 80 | 874,787 | 83.3 |
| 1935 | 27 Nov (Wed) | 26 Nov (Tue) | 80 | 919,798 | 90.8 |
| 1938 | 15 Oct (Sat) | 14 Oct (Fri) | 80 | 995,173 | 92.9 |
| 1943 | 25 Sep (Sat) | 24 Sep (Fri) | 80 | 1,021,034 | 82.8 |
| 1946 | 27 Nov (Wed) | 26 Nov (Tue) | 80 | 1,081,898 | 93.5 |
| 1949 | 30 Nov (Wed) | 29 Nov (Tue) | 80 | 1,113,852 | 93.5 |
| 1951 | 1 Sep (Sat hereafter) | 80 | 1,205,762 | 89.1 | |
| 1954 | 13 Nov | 80 | 1,209,670 | 91.4 | |
| 1957 | 30 Nov | 80 | 1,252,329 | 92.9 | |
| 1960 | 26 Nov | 80 | 1,310,742 | 89.8 | |
| 1963 | 30 Nov | 80 | 1,345,836 | 89.6 | |
| 1966 | 26 Nov | 80 | 1,409,600 | 86.0 | |
| 1969 | 29 Nov | 84 | 1,519,889 | 88.9 | |
| 1972 | 25 Nov | 87 | 1,583,256 | 89.1 | |
| 1975 | 29 Nov | 87 | 1,953,050 | 82.5 | |
| 1978 | 25 Nov | 92 | 2,487,594 | 69.2 | |
| 1981 | 28 Nov | 92 | 2,034,747 | 91.4 | |
| 1984 | 14 Jul | 95 | 2,111,651 | 93.7 | |
| 1987 | 15 Aug | 97 | 2,114,656 | 89.1 | |
| 1990 | 27 Oct | 97 | 2,202,157 | 85.2 | |
| 1993 | 6 Nov | 99 | 2,321,664 | 85.2 | |
| 1996 | 12 Oct | 120 | 2,418,587 | 88.3 | |
| 1999 | 27 Nov | 120 | 2,509,365 | 84.8 | |
| 2002 | 27 Jul | 120 | 2,670,030 | 77.0 | |
| 2005 | 17 Sep | 121 | 2,847,396 | 80.9 | |
| 2008 | 8 Nov | 122 | 2,990,759 | 79.5 | |
| 2011 | 26 Nov | 121 | 3,070,847 | 74.2 | |
| 2014 | 20 Sep | 121 | 3,140,417 | 77.9 | |
| 2017 | 23 Sep | 120 | 3,298,009 | 79.8 | |
| 2020 | 17 October | 120 | 2,919,073 | 82.2 | |
Date of general election
Voting in New Zealand’s first general elections, from 1853 to 1879, took place over a period of weeks or months.
From 1881 a single day was specified for voting in all general electorates. Voting in the Māori electorates was held on a different day. Since 1951 voting in general and Māori electorates have taken place on the same day, and always on a Saturday.
Total registered electors
The way enrolment figures have been recorded has changed over the years.
- Early figures include electors enrolled in uncontested seats, who are excluded when calculating turnout. All seats have been contested since 1943.
- Figures from 1860-1 to 1879 exclude gold miners who were entitled to vote without registration.
- Registered elector figures up until 1951 do not include voters in the Māori electorates. Rolls for the Māori electorates were not compiled until 1949.
How turnout is calculated
Nowadays, official turnout is the total number of votes cast as a percentage of those enrolled. The total votes cast includes valid votes, informal votes and disallowed votes.
The way official turnout is calculated has changed over time.
- Until 1954 it was valid votes plus informal votes as a percentage of total enrolled electors.
- From 1957 to 1978 it was valid votes plus informal votes as a percentage of total enrolled electors plus allowed special votes.
More information on the figures in this table
More detailed notes on the enrolment and turnout figures in this table for elections from 1853 to 2011 are available on the New Zealand History website.
See the table on the New Zealand History website
General election results, enrolment and turnout figures from 1996 until now are available on the Commission’s results website, along with results for by-elections and referendums.
Find the results for elections from 1996 until now
See the results of elections held between 1890 and 1993