1914 New Zealand general election

1914 New Zealand general election

10 & 11 December 1914
All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	84.7%
First party Second party   Leader William Massey Joseph Ward Party Reform Liberal Leader since 11 February 1909 11 September 1913 Leader's seat Franklin Awarua Last election 38 seats, 33.4% 36 seats, 34.2% Seats before 41 32 Seats won 40 34 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 243,122 222,299 Percentage 47.1% 43.1% Swing 13.7% 8.9%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Alfred Hindmarsh James McCombs Party United Labour Social Democrat Leader since 7 April 1912 Unclear Leader's seat Wellington South Lyttelton Last election Not yet founded Not yet founded Seats before 2 3 Seats won 3 2 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 22,672 22,500 Percentage 4.2% 4.2% Swing 4.2% 4.2%
Prime Minister before election William Massey Reform Prime Minister-designate William Massey Reform

The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Maori vote was held on 11 December. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote.

The election saw William Massey's Reform Government maintain power.

The second-ballot voting system had been repealed in 1913, and first-past-the-post voting reinstated for the 1914 election.

Soldiers serving overseas in the NZEF were given a vote by the Expeditionary Forces Voting Act, 1914. They voted for a party (Liberal, Labour or Reform) and their votes were allocated to a candidate for their electorate by a representative of their party; which sometimes required the representative to choose between rival "Liberal" or "Labour" candidates.

Summary of results

Party totals

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
Template:Meta color	Reform Party	84	243,025	45.47	40
Template:Meta color	Liberal Party	77	227,706	42.61	34
Template:Meta color	United Labour	10	22,672	4.24	3
Template:Meta color	Social Democrat	11	22,500	4.21	2
Template:Meta color	Independents	12	18,554	3.47	1
Total valid votes			534,457		80
Informal votes			5,618	1.04
Registered voters			616,043
Total candidates		193

• Auckland West, Hawke's Bay, Taumarunui, Wairarapa, Waitaki and Wellington Central were won by the Liberals from Reform
• Chalmers, Dunedin West, Motueka, and Northern Maori were won by Reform from the Liberals
• Nelson was won by Reform from an independent.
• Otaki was won by Reform from the Social Democrats.
• Dunedin North was won by United Labour from Reform
• Four electorates replaced their incumbent MP with another from the same party: Christchurch East and Temuka (Liberal), Eden and Wellington Suburbs and Country (Reform).

Votes summary

Popular Vote Reform   46.90% Liberal   43.10% United Labour   4.24% Social Democrat   4.21% Independents   11.40%

Parliament seats Reform   50.00% Liberal   42.50% United Labour   3.75% Social Democrat   2.50% Independents   1.25%

See also

• Politics of New Zealand
• Elections in New Zealand