Election night glossary: 41 terms you'll hear on 7 November

Election night has its own language. Commentators will talk about overhangs, list MPs, specials and lifeboats as if everyone knows what they mean. This glossary explains them in plain English, A to Z. Bookmark it for Saturday night.

A to F

• Advance vote. A vote cast before election day. Advance voting ran from 26 October to 6 November 2026. See advance voting 2026.
• Ballot paper. The paper you mark. Under MMP it has the party vote on one side and the electorate vote on the other.
• Bloc. A group of parties likely to govern together. Commentators add up bloc seats to see who could reach a majority.
• By-election. An election in a single electorate when a seat becomes vacant between general elections.
• Call (a result). When a news organisation decides the remaining votes can't change an outcome.
• Coalition. A government made of more than one party, with a written agreement. See how governments form.
• Confidence and supply. An agreement where a party supports the government on confidence votes and the budget, without being fully part of it.
• Dictation voting. Voting by phone with help from a trained operator, for people who are blind, have low vision or can't mark a paper.
• Dormant roll. People whose enrolment details are out of date. They can still vote, but cast a special vote.
• EasyVote card. A card sent to enrolled voters with their roll details. It speeds things up but you don't need it to vote.
• Electoral Commission. The independent body that runs general elections and publishes results.
• Electorate. A geographic area that elects one MP. There are 71 in 2026: 64 general and 7 Māori electorates.
• Electorate vote. Your vote for a candidate to represent your electorate.
• First past the post (FPP). The system used until 1993. The candidate with the most votes in each seat won, and seats decided the government.

G to M

• General electorate. One of the 64 electorates for voters on the general roll.
• Hung Parliament. When no party or obvious bloc has a majority.
• Informal vote. A vote that can't be counted because the voter's choice isn't clear.
• List MP. An MP elected from their party's ranked list, not from an electorate.
• List seats. The seats used to make each party's total match its party vote. There are 49 in 2026.
• Lifeboat or coat-tailing. When a small party wins an electorate and so gets list seats too, even below 5%. See the 5% threshold.
• Majority. More than half the seats in Parliament: 61 of 120.
• Māori electorates. Seven electorates for voters on the Māori roll. See Māori electorates explained.
• Marginal seat. An electorate won by a small margin last time.
• MMP. Mixed member proportional, the system used since 1996. See how MMP works.
• Minority government. A government without a majority of its own, relying on other parties' support.

O to S

• Official result. The final count, including special votes. Due on 27 November 2026.
• Overhang. Extra seats added when a party wins more electorates than its party vote entitles it to. See overhang seats explained.
• Party list. The ranked list of candidates each party submits. List seats go to candidates in order, skipping anyone who has won an electorate.
• Party vote. Your vote for a party. It decides the overall shape of Parliament.
• Preliminary result. The election night count of ordinary votes. Not final.
• Recount. A second count in an electorate, ordered by a District Court judge if a candidate applies after the official result.
• Returning officer. The official responsible for running the election in an electorate.
• Sainte-Laguë. The formula used to share seats between parties. See our worked example.
• Scrutineer. A person appointed by a candidate or party to watch the count.
• Special vote. A vote that has to be checked before it's counted, for example from someone who enrolled late or voted outside their electorate. See special votes explained.
• Swing. The change in a party's support since the last election.

T to Z

• Threshold. The 5% of the party vote a party needs to share in list seats, unless it wins an electorate.
• Turnout. The share of enrolled voters who vote. It was 78.2% in 2023. See turnout through history.
• Unpublished roll. A confidential roll for people whose safety could be at risk if their address was public.
• Wasted vote. A party vote for a party that doesn't reach the threshold or win an electorate, so it doesn't turn into a seat.
• Writ. The formal document instructing that the election be held. Writ day was 4 October 2026, and the writ is returned with the winners' names on 3 December.

Questions and answers

Sources

• Electoral Commission: definitions and 2026 dates.
• vote.nz: enrolment and voting information.

This guide is general information about New Zealand elections, checked against the sources linked above on 3 November 2026. For anything about your own enrolment or vote, check vote.nz or call the Electoral Commission on 0800 36 76 56.