Election 2026: What the MMP party vote really decides – David Harvey

Opinion byLaw & society columnist·NZ Herald·9 Aug, 2026 05:03 AM6 mins to readDavid Harvey is a retired District Court judge.‌Footrot Flats' Wal played a key part in the educational process as New Zealanders cast their first vote under MMP in 1996. Every three years New Zealanders troop to the polling booths, mark their papers, and go home glowing with civic virtue. Almost none of them stop to ask the only question that matters: what, precisely, did that vote just do? Because let us be honest about what elections have become. They