17/03/2023
Lack of Data on Ethnic Voter Turnout and Budget Allocation in New Zealand Remains a 'Mystery'
Will you vote in the 2023 General Election? The Electoral Commission has confirmed the timetable for the 2023 General Election following the Prime Minister's announcement of the election date. However, the Commission admits that it is hard to appreciate how much Asian vote and the government's advertising budget in the Asian community as well, as those data were 'lacking' for the past general election.
"We don’t collect data on ethnicity so a break-down of turnout by ethnicity is not available, " said the Electoral Commission.
New Zealand's general election in 2020 saw an unprecedented voter turnout, with nearly 82% of eligible voters casting their votes. However, the voter turnout amongst ethnic migrants of Pan-Asian origin, including Indian and Chinese communities, remains unclear as ethnicity data is not collected during elections.
According to the Electoral Commission, turnout statistics for the 2020 General Election were broken down by age and Māori and non-Māori descent. The commission also provided data to Skykiwi on voter turnout by the electorate but could not break it down by region or city.
Despite the lack of specific data on Pan-Asian voters, the Electoral Commission made efforts to promote participation in the election process. The commission mentioned that they had public information advertising to encourage enrolling and voting, community outreach throughout the country, and advertising in a range of languages on television, radio, print, and online.
The commission said they also provided resources, including posters and brochures about enrolling and voting, translated into 27 different languages, including Arabic, Burmese, traditional and simplified Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malay, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, and Vietnamese.
“For the 2020 General Election, we had advertising across 11 ethnic community print titles, advertisements on Chinese and Indian TV networks, and posters and brochures available in different languages in public places including community centres, fitness, and sports centres.”
The commission was unable to provide a breakdown because advertising is prepared in packages across a range of media, including ethnic and mainstream media outlets.
Data from the commission shows that in 2020, 3% of its staff identified as Chinese and 4% Indian. The commission also has a permanent community engagement workforce that attends events, gives presentations, and engages with communities, including Asian communities, on a regular basis to help them have trust and confidence in participating in the electoral system.
“We also had successful community partnerships with organisations such as Multicultural New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand, Auckland Regional Migrant Services Trust, and the Chinese New Settlers Services Trust reaching Asian, Indian, and new migrant and refugee communities in Auckland.”
The Electoral Commission disclosed its initial budget for advertising for the 2020 General Election was $6.9 million. The commission told Skykiwi that they received additional funding for advertising for the referendums, and COVID-19 measures, and to extend advertising after the change in election date. However, it is unclear how much of that fund was dedicated to promoting elections in Asian communities.
As the Electoral Commission is currently planning for General Election 2023, it anticipates using similar methods of engagement and a public information campaign to encourage enrolling and voting.
"It is important every eligible voter exercises their democratic right to vote so they are represented in Parliament."
Skykiwi understood that before an election, the Electoral Commission undertakes a public information campaign about how, when, and where to enroll and vote.
"It matters very much to reach all New Zealanders."
"We are actively engaging with wider ethnic networks, non-governmental organisations and other organisations to explain the election process and promote voting among ethnic communities," said the Electoral Commission.
While specific data on Pan-Asian voters' turnout during the general election 2020 is still a mystery, the Electoral Commission "worked hard" to promote participation in the election process, including recruiting Asian staff, and targeting Asian communities with specific resources and outreach programs.
