Tuesday 12 October marks the 25th anniversary of the first MMP election held in New Zealand.

After looking through the archives, the Electoral Commission has rediscovered the original Footrot Flats advertisements that explained voting under the Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP).

The campaign was developed with Footrot Flats creator Murray Ball for the Electoral Commission ahead of the first MMP election on 12 October 1996.

Dust off your desktop computer like it’s 1996, and get ready to watch Wal, Cooch, Aunt Dolly and Dog give you the low down on your party and electorate vote at www.elections.nz/mmp.

As Wal says, everyone gets two votes, one for a party, and one for a person, and the party votes decide the share of all the seats in Parliament.

“25 years on, these ads are still fresh and funny and give a good explanation of our voting system,” says Alicia Wright, Chief Electoral Officer.

Alicia Wright says voters have come to understand MMP well and know how to use their two ticks.

“After each election we survey voters and non-voters. In 2020, 96% of respondents said they had a good or excellent understanding of how to vote, up from 93% in 2017 and 95% in 2014.”

The Electoral Commission thanks the family of Murray Ball for their permission to release the advertisements to mark 25 years of MMP.

Links

The four Footrot Flats videos, introduced by Orange Guy and Pup, are available at the YouTube and Dropbox links below. Still photo attached with permission of The Murray Ball Estate. More stills are available in the Dropbox.

MMP party and people https://youtu.be/9GXnXirP6Ds

MMP threshold https://youtu.be/0ggCoXkoLZ4

MMP proportionality https://youtu.be/o9JuW1AxsQg

MMP top up https://youtu.be/Ys0ji6ttx38

Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6gpf6q06qntt2yx/AACN11c35RsAWxAAu7oMCzM6a?dl=0

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