Mixed Member – MPs enter parliament in two different ways, either as list MPs or electorate MPs.

Proportional – the overall result is designed so that each party’s share of MPs is proportional to its share of the party votes cast for all parties winning seats.

The order electorate candidates appear in the right hand column of the ballot paper is alphabetical by last name of each candidate. If candidate’s party is contesting the party vote then that party’s name and logo will appear in the left hand column of the ballot paper on the same row as the candidate if not, there will be a blank in the left hand column. So the order in which the parties appear will be different in each electorate, although everyone has the same choice of parties for the party vote. Parties that are only contesting the party vote in an electorate are listed in alphabetical order below parties standing candidates in that electorate.

A voter does not have to cast both a party vote and an electorate vote to cast a valid vote.

A voter’s party vote helps decide how many seats (MPs) each party has in parliament. Every voter in every general electorate and every Māori electorate has the same selection of parties to choose from. A party will get seats in parliament based on its party vote if it wins:

• five percent or more of all the party votes, or 
• one or more electorate seats.

This is called the threshold.

Parties crossing the threshold will get a share of MPs close to their share of party votes. Party votes cast for parties that don’t cross the threshold aren’t included in the allocation process and do not affect the number of seats other parties will receive. The allocation based on party votes decides how many MPs each party has in parliament but not the people who will take those seats as MPs.

An electorate vote helps decide who becomes a local MP, representing an electorate. Each electorate has a different selection of candidates to choose from. Electorate candidates can include independents and candidates from parties not contesting the party vote. The candidate who gets the most votes wins the seat and becomes the electorate MP.

A party’s share of seats in parliament is filled first by any electorate MPs. Remaining places are filled by taking candidates from the nominated party list who have not already been elected to an electorate in the order that they appear on the list. MPs elected from the party list are list MPs.

An electorate vote can’t usually change a party’s total share of seats. This can only happen in an electorate where:

• A party needs to win it to cross the threshold because it might get less than 5 percent of all party votes. (In 2008 this applied to ACT New Zealand in Epsom, United Future in Ōhariu, and Jim Anderton’s Progressive in Wigram.)
• Winning it will contribute to an overhang. An overhang occurs if a party wins more electorate seats than the total number of seats it would gain through its share of the party vote. In this case the party keeps all its electorate seats as they have been elected by those electorates. But, because deducting the extra number of seats from parliament’s 120 seat total would upset the proportional allocation and disadvantage the other parties, the extra number of seats are added to the House. (In 2008 Māori Party won five electorate seats while their proportional allocation from party votes was three, so the number of MPs in parliament increased to 122.)
• It is won by an independent or candidate from a party not after the party vote. If this happens then the number of seats allocated by the Sainte Laguë formula is reduced from 120 by the number of electorates won in this way. No independent electorate MPs have been elected under MMP, and few were elected under the previous electoral system, First Past the Post.
   

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