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1992 criteria for judging voting systems

For the 1992 referendum on electoral systems an independent panel identified criteria for judging voting systems.

The information below has been sourced from the Guide to the Electoral Referendum 1992 (Information prepared by the independent referendum panel for the 1992 referendum on electoral systems). The guide is available for download.
 
Legitimacy
Do people on the losing side accept the results? Does the community as a whole accept the voting system as the best possible basis for running the country?
 
Political integration
Does a voting system unite a country or divide it? Does it promote respect for different points of view?
 
Effective government
Can a government elected under a particular voting system achieve what it sets out to do? Will the government last, or will it fall because it does not have a majority in Parliament.
 
Effectiveness of Parliament
Will Cabinet dominate Parliament under a particular voting system? Does the voting system mean that Parliament can challenge and debate government policies in the way it is meant to?
 
Fairness
Do political parties win a share of the seats that is similar to their share of the votes? Is there a marked difference between the number of seats some parties get and the votes they win?
 
Representation of minorities and special groups
How well are the interests of ethnic minorities and other groups such as business people, workers and women represented in Parliament under various voting systems? How well are such groups themselves represented?
 
Māori representation
Will a particular voting system help or hinder representation of Māori people? Are Māori people fairly represented in Parliament? How will different voting systems affect this? How will different systems affect the existing separate representation of Māori people?
 
Representation of constituents
Does a voting system encourage close links between people and their Members of Parliament? How easy will it be for constituents to get their ideas across to their Members of Parliament under a particular voting system?
 
Voter participation
Do voters understand how the system works?   Is the method of electing Members of Parliament straightforward or is it difficult to follow?
 
Effective political parties
Will a voting system give us political parties that are too strong or too weak? Will a particular voting system help parties listen to and act on voters’ views and concerns?
 
Voters will have to make up their own minds on which criteria are important to them. Different points will be important to different people.