16 January 2006

Chief Electoral Office Ministry of Justice

Voters Report High Level Of Satisfaction With Service At 2005 General Election

Post-election surveys of voter experience of the 2005 General Election show a high level of satisfaction with the service received.

Results of the "Voter/Non-Voter Satisfaction" surveys commissioned by the Chief Electoral Office for the 2005 General Election are now available on the elections website www.elections.org.nz.

"Overall, we're pleased with the results," says Acting Chief Electoral Officer Robert Peden. "The vast majority of voters rate the service highly, use the EasyVote card when they vote, consider the time spent in the polling place is reasonable and find the ballot paper straightforward."

"The Chief Electoral Office is always looking for ways to improve the service it provides. We are therefore analysing the survey results in depth to identify improvements for the 2008 General Election."

The survey indicates that most people had a positive voting experience and found it easy to vote. For example: * 98% of voters considered the amount of time they spent in the polling place was reasonable * 95% found the ballot paper clear and easy to use * 95% rated the polling place staff as efficient * 85% did not have to queue at the polling place * 84% of voters used their EasyVote card.

Compared to 2002, significant improvements in voter satisfaction were recorded in areas such as polling place locations, layout and signage, polling place staff ability to answer questions and information on how to vote in polling places.

Attitudes of non-voters are also included in the survey. The main reasons given for not voting were related to attitudes to politics as opposed to administrative barriers to voting.

For each question within the survey a comparison was made of the attitudes for Màori and non-Màori and 18-24 year olds. Overall, Màori and Youth voters had a similar voting experience to those sampled for the main survey.

The Chief Electoral Office also commissioned a survey of voters/non-voters with a disability and it showed that most voters with disabilities are also satisfied with the service provided: * 81% of voters with a disability spent less than 10 minutes in the polling place * 95% rated the polling place staff as pleasant and polite * 82% were satisfied with the polling place facilities.

The surveys were commissioned by the Chief Electoral Office and conducted by independent researcher, TNS New Zealand.

The voter survey sample size was 1,004 with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. The non-voter survey sample size was 226 with a margin of error of +/- 6.5%. The disability survey sample size was 115.

Copies of the surveys are available on www.elections.org.nz.

ENDS

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