2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum

Last updated

2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum
Flag of New Zealand.svg
17 October 2020 (2020-10-17)
Do you support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes1,893,29065.91%
Light brown x.svgNo979,07934.09%
Valid votes2,872,36998.77%
Invalid or blank votes35,7021.23%
Total votes2,908,071100.00%
Registered voters/turnout3,549,56481.93%
2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum results.svg
Results by electorate.

The 2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum was a binding referendum [1] held in New Zealand on 17 October 2020, on the question of whether to legalise euthanasia via the End of Life Choice Act 2019. [2] The vote was held in conjunction with the 2020 general election, and official results were released on 6 November 2020. It was accepted by New Zealand voters, with 65.1% in support and 33.7% opposed. [3]

Contents

The act came into force on 7 November 2021, twelve months after the final vote count was announced. [4] The End of Life Choice Act legalises voluntary euthanasia for those with a terminal illness and less than six months left to live, if confirmed to be eligible by two doctors. [1] [5] New Zealand is the first country to have put euthanasia legalisation to a referendum. [1]

Votes for the End of Life Choice referendum were included on the same ballot as the 2020 cannabis referendum, which sought to legalise recreational cannabis.

Background

Prior to 2021, euthanasia was illegal in New Zealand, with it being illegal to "aid and abet suicide" under section 179 of the Crimes Act 1961.

Two earlier attempts to legalise euthanasia failed to get through the New Zealand Parliament. Hawkes Bay National MP Michael Laws's 1995 Death with Dignity Bill failed with 61 votes against and 29 supporting, and NZ First MP Peter Brown's 2003 Death with Dignity Bill failed in its first reading by 60 votes opposing to 58 supporting. [6]

End of Life Choice Bill

ACT party MP David Seymour entered the End of Life Choice Bill to the member's bill ballot in October 2015. [7] The bill passed its first reading 76–44 in December 2017 and its second reading 70–50 in June 2019. [8] [9] In the committee of the whole House, support from the New Zealand First party became conditional on a referendum to decide whether the law should come into force. [5] An amendment to require a referendum passed 69–51, [10] and the bill passed its third reading with the same numbers on 13 November. [11] The bill received royal assent on 16 November 2019, becoming the End of Life Choice Act 2019.

Referendum structure

A sample ballot for the 2020 referendums. Sample ballot for the 2020 New Zealand referendums.jpg
A sample ballot for the 2020 referendums.

Following the third reading, the act was written such that it could only come into force following a majority support at a referendum, which would make the legislation active twelve months after the final vote count. [12] If the majority had opposed the legislation in the referendum (or any subsequent referendum, if the first had been voided), it would have been repealed by 16 November 2024, five years after it received royal assent. [2]

The wording of the referendum was also written into the act, and asked voters: [12]

Do you support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force?
  • Yes, I support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force.
  • No, I do not support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force.

Public opinion

Support for assisted dying between 2000 and 2019 averaged at around 68%, [5] and prior to the act passing into law in 2019, support for some kind of medically assisted euthanasia for the terminally ill was polled at 74% in April, [13] and 72% in July of 2019. [5]

During the 16-month-long select committee stage of the End of Life Choice Bill, 39,000 public submissions were made, with 90% of submitters opposed to it. [10] Over one thousand doctors signed an open letter in mid-2019 saying that they "want no part in assisted suicide". [14]

Summary of poll results given below. Lines give the mean estimated by a LOESS smoother (smoothing set to span = 0.75). Opinion polling for the 2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum.svg
Summary of poll results given below. Lines give the mean estimated by a LOESS smoother (smoothing set to span = 0.75).

Through 2020, following the act's assent, public support for it polled at 60–65%:

DatePolling organisationSample sizeForAgainstUndecidedLead
10–14 Oct 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,0056033727
17–21 Sep 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,00864251139
20–23 Aug 2020 Research New Zealand 1,00362241438
9–13 Jul 2020 Research New Zealand 1,01264181846
6-8 Mar 2020 Research New Zealand 1,00060211939
8–12 Feb 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,0046525940
27 Nov – 2 Dec 2019 Research New Zealand 7507024648
17–26 Nov 2019 Horizon Research 1,5217030–40
20–24 Jul 2019 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,0037220752
19–29 Apr 2019 Horizon Research Archived 4 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine 1,3417419755

Campaigning and endorsements

The rules regarding campaigning for referenda are the same as for general elections. All advertisements must carry a promoter statement, stating the name and physical address of the promoter. It is illegal to campaign on polling day, or within a 10-metre (33 ft) radius of an advance polling booth.

During the regulated period, which ran from 18 August to 16 October 2020, promoters have to declare their campaign expenses and there are limits on how much they may spend on referendum campaigning. The maximum expense limit was $338,000 per referendum for those promoters registered with the Electoral Commission, and $13,600 per referendum for unregistered promoters. [15]

Results

Results of the 2020 euthanasia referendum 2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum results.svg
Results of the 2020 euthanasia referendum

Unlike the general election, a preliminary count for the euthanasia referendum was not conducted on election night (17 October 2020). Instead, the referendum votes were counted alongside the mandatory election recount. [16]

All voting papers, counterfoils and electoral rolls are returned to the electorate's returning officer for counting. During the count, the returning officer approves and counts any special votes, [a] and compiles a master electoral roll to ensure no-one has voted more than once. [18] To simplify processing and counting, overseas votes are sent and counted at the Electoral Commission's central processing centre in Wellington, rather than to electorate returning officers. [19]

Preliminary results for the referendums were released by the Electoral Commission on 30 October 2020. These results had 65.2% of people in support of the legislation. [20]

Following the counting of the 480,000 special votes, official results for the general election and referendums were released on 6 November. Based on the final results, 65.1% of people supported the legislation while 33.7% opposed it. [3] Three South Auckland electorates — Māngere, Manurewa and Panmure-Ōtāhuhu — voted against the End of Life Choices Act, perhaps due to conservative evangelical Pasifika Christianity's strength in those areas. By contrast, over three quarters of Auckland Central and Wellington Central voters supported introduction of the End of Life Choices Act in this referendum. Although these are metropolitan electorates, there were several other electorates that polled over seventy percent support for the proposed legislation that were not necessarily urban. [21]

The new legislation took effect on 7 November 2021. [22] [23]

Official results of the New Zealand euthanasia referendum, 17 October 2020 [3]
OptionVotes
Num.%
Yes check.svg Yes1,893,29065.91
X mark.svg No979,07934.09
Total2,872,369100.00
Informal votes 35,7021.23
Total votes cast2,908,071100.00
Registered voters and turnout3,549,56482.24
Euthanasia referendum results (excluding invalid votes)
Yes
1,893,290 (65.9%)		No
979,079 (34.1%)
▲
50%

By polling place location

As each polling place had only one ballot box for ordinary referendum votes, ordinary votes were broken down by the general electorate where the polling place was located. Special votes were broken down by electorate. Both ordinary and special votes have been combined in the following table. [24]

ElectorateYes check.svg YesX mark.svg NoInformalTurnout
Num. %Num %
Auckland Central 28,88976.888,69023.12417
Banks Peninsula 31,66068.9314,26831.07458
Bay of Plenty 31,74369.1114,18630.89401
Botany 22,41757.2516,74042.75575
Christchurch Central 30,89967.8714,62932.13603
Christchurch East 32,79968.8414,84331.16518
Coromandel 33,74570.6414,02329.36432
Dunedin 34,56068.7715,69431.23505
East Coast 34,64565.8417,97234.16710
East Coast Bays 29,89068.0317,97231.97416
Epsom 31,13870.1213,26729.88485
Hamilton East 28,86262.1017,61637.90591
Hamilton West 29,12763.2216,94236.78627
Hutt South 33,50366.6316,77833.37672
Ilam 27,56264.8814,92135.12453
Invercargill 26,53663.7715,07636.23404
Kaikoura 29,96170.1712,73829.83353
Kaipara ki Mahurangi 34,95170.0014,97930.00504
Kelston 19,07858.7213,41141.28583
Mana 25,33163.8714,97936.13559
Māngere 11,77438.3713,41161.63745
Manurewa 18,67746.8421,20153.161,025
Maungakiekie 24,00562.6814,29537.32561
Mount Albert 30,69771.4612,26028.54561
Mount Roskill 21,32655.6616,99044.34779
Napier 32,53070.9513,32129.05519
Nelson 34,24069.8514,77730.15545
New Lynn 26,34964.6014,43835.40672
New Plymouth 31,52666.5715,83533.43461
North Shore 29,63769.9312,74530.07362
Northcote 28,00268.0813,12831.92468
Northland 34,54267.2516,81932.75636
Ōhāriu 27,43767.7013,09332.30434
Ōtaki 35,02268.0116,47731.99573
Pakuranga 25,09162.8314,84237.17483
Palmerston North 25,75662.5815,40137.42459
Panmure-Ōtāhuhu 14,86847.5416,40652.46956
Papakura 27,05065.1214,48634.88563
Port Waikato 28,88667.7113,76332.29446
Rangitata 29,77565.5715,63234.43475
Rangitīkei 29,31265.8015,23634.20396
Remutaka 26,60864.2914,78135.71511
Rongotai 29,50569.9212,69630.08761
Rotorua 29,37664.9415,86235.06582
Selwyn 27,73869.7212,04630.28284
Southland 27,66468.8312,52631.17327
Taieri 28,68866.1214,70233.88410
Takanini 17,25156.7313,15843.27624
Tāmaki 28,66067.5213,78732.48474
Taranaki-King Country 27,06167.5512,99832.45370
Taupō 33,84268.1115,84231.89453
Tauranga 33,64765.5917,65234.41506
Te Atatū 25,38058.6817,87241.32695
Tukituki 30,03767.1814,67532.82505
Upper Harbour 23,26763.9413,12136.06454
Waikato 24,34664.7713,24135.23419
Waimakariri 30,91768.1514,45031.85388
Wairarapa 33,29069.3814,69330.62467
Waitaki 28,86268.0313,56631.97401
Wellington Central 46,18776.1414,47423.86666
West Coast-Tasman 28,94171.3611,61528.64446
Whanganui 28,74964.0416,12835.94483
Whangaparāoa 29,53968.2413,74731.76304
Whangārei 34,82367.8516,50032.15642
Wigram 28,25963.9015,96536.10623
Hauraki-Waikato 3,91558.712,75341.29255
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti 3,39060.682,19739.32224
Tāmaki Makaurau 3,98458.192,86241.81240
Te Tai Hauāuru 3,73459.932,49740.07173
Te Tai Tokerau 3,94259.152,72240.85204
Te Tai Tonga 4,15767.631,99032.37185
Waiariki 3,75357.632,75942.37241
Total1,893,29065.91979,07934.0935,702

Notes

  1. ↑ Special votes include votes from those who enrolled after the deadline of 13 September, those who voted outside their electorate (this includes all overseas votes), voters in hospital or prison, and those voters enrolled on the unpublished roll. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACT New Zealand</span> New Zealand political party

ACT New Zealand, also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the National and New Zealand First parties, as part of the Sixth National government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in New Zealand</span>

New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date at the discretion of the prime minister, but that usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill an electorate vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. Election day is always a Saturday, but advance voting is allowed in the lead-up to it. The most recent general election took place on 14 October 2023.

Right to Life New Zealand is a nationwide but Christchurch-based anti-abortion group. It broke away from the New Zealand Society for Protection of the Unborn Child in 2000 following disagreements between the Christchurch branch spokesperson Ken Orr and the national leadership over lobbying tactics. Besides opposing abortion, Right to Life NZ opposes euthanasia, sex education, and specific policies around LGBT issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisa Wall</span> New Zealand Member of Parliament

Louisa Hareruia Wall is a New Zealand former double international sportswoman, former politician, and human rights advocate. She represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern from 1989 to 1992 and in rugby union as a member of the Black Ferns from 1995 to 2001, including as a member of the 1991 World Netball Championships runner-up team and 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup winning team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Macindoe</span> New Zealand politician

Timothy Harley Macindoe is a New Zealand politician who has served as a member of the Hamilton City Council for the East Ward since 2024. Macindoe was previously a Member of Parliament for the Hamilton West electorate from 2008 to 2020. He served as the Minister of Customs for the final six months of the Fifth National Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in New Zealand</span>

The use of cannabis in New Zealand is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis a crime. Cannabis is the fourth-most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illicit drug. In 2001 a household survey revealed that 13.4% of New Zealanders aged 15–64 used cannabis. This ranked as the ninth-highest cannabis consumption level in the world.

The 2011 New Zealand voting system referendum was a referendum on whether to keep the existing mixed member proportional (MMP) voting system, or to change to another voting system, for electing Members of Parliament to New Zealand's House of Representatives. It was held on 26 November 2011 in conjunction with the 2011 general election.

Euthanasia became legal in New Zealand when the End of Life Choice Act 2019 took full effect on 7 November 2021. It is illegal to "aid and abet suicide" under Section 179 of the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961. The clauses of this act make it an offence to "incite, procure or counsel" and "aid and abet" someone else to commit suicide, regardless of whether a suicide attempt is made or not. Section 179 covers both coercion to undertake assisted suicide and true suicide, such as that caused by bullying. This will not change under the End of Life Choices Act 2019, which has provisions on coercion of terminally ill people.

Ian Robert Flockhart McKelvie is a New Zealand politician. He represented the National Party in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Seymour</span> New Zealand politician (born 1983)

David Breen Seymour is a New Zealand politician who has been the Leader of ACT New Zealand and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom since 2014. He currently serves as the 1st Minister for Regulation in the Sixth National Government under Christopher Luxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Smith (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Stuart Tayler Smith is a New Zealand National Party politician. He was first elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Kaikōura electorate, representing the National Party, in the 2014 general election.

Lecretia Anne Seales was a New Zealand lawyer who, upon suffering a brain tumour and enduring treatments for it, became an advocate of physician-assisted dying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Russell</span> New Zealand politician

Deborah Faye Russell is a New Zealand academic and politician. She is a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party and served as Minister of Statistics and Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission from February to November 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Luxton</span> New Zealand politician

Jo-Anne Marie Luxton is a New Zealand politician. She has been a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party since the 2017 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Marcroft</span> New Zealand politician (born 1963)

Jennifer Lyn Marcroft is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum</span> Referendum in New Zealand

The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum was a non-binding referendum held on 17 October 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 general election and a euthanasia referendum, on the question of whether to legalise the sale, use, possession and production of recreational cannabis. It was rejected by New Zealand voters. The form of the referendum was a vote for or against the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill". Official results were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020 with 50.7% of voters opposing the legalisation and 48.4% in support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">End of Life Choice Act 2019</span> Act of Parliament in New Zealand

The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that gives people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted suicide or euthanasia. The act came into force on 7 November 2021, twelve months after the 2020 euthanasia referendum was declared in favour of the legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke van Velden</span> New Zealand politician (born 1992)

Brooke Olivia van Velden is a New Zealand politician who has served as the deputy leader of ACT New Zealand since June 2020. She has been a member of Parliament (MP) since the 2020 general election, first as a list MP and, since 2023, the MP for Tāmaki. Van Velden currently serves in the National-led government as the 38th minister of internal affairs and 6th minister for workplace relations and safety. She is the second youngest cabinet minister in New Zealand history, being just eight days older than Phil Goff was when he became Minister of Housing after the 1984 election.

Christopher John Baillie is a New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament for ACT New Zealand from 2020 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Results of the 2020 New Zealand general election</span>

This article summarises results of the 17 October 2020 New Zealand general election, including both party vote and electorate vote outcomes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Graham-McLay, Charlotte (13 November 2019). "New Zealand to vote in referendum on euthanasia". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 "End of Life Choice Act 2019 No 67, Public Act 2 Commencement – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Official referendum results released | Elections". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "End of Life Choice Act implementation". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jancic, Boris (13 November 2019). "Euthanasia bill passes final vote, goes to referendum". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Assisted dying: New Zealand - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  7. ↑ Seymour, David. "Seymour lodges assisted dying Bill". ACT.org.nz. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Euthanasia bill passes second reading". The New Zealand Herald . 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Euthanasia bill passes second reading in Parliament". Radio New Zealand . 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  10. 1 2 Cooke, Henry (13 November 2019). "Euthanasia bill passes 69-51, sending the final decision to a referendum". Stuff . Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Cooke, Henry (13 November 2019). "MPs vote in favour of End of Life Choice Bill at final reading". Stuff . Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Referendum on the End of Life Choice Act 2019". referendum.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  13. ↑ Patston, Philip (4 January 2020). "New poll shows most voters want assisted dying law change". End-of-Life Choice Society of NZ Inc. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Collins, Simon (22 June 2019). "1000 Kiwi doctors sign letter against euthanasia". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Change in regulated period | Elections". elections.nz. Electoral Commission . Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  16. ↑ "About the 2020 General Election". vote.nz. Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "Can't get to a voting place?". Elections.nz. Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "How are general election votes counted?". Elections.nz. Electoral Commission . Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  19. ↑ "Party Secretary Handbook - 2020 General Election and Referendums" (PDF). Electoral Commission.
  20. ↑ "New Zealand euthanasia: Assisted dying to be legal for terminally ill people". BBC News . 30 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "Referendum Results". Electoral Commission. Spreadsheet results for individual electorates at the bottom of the web page. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Assisted Dying Service". New Zealand Ministry of Health. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  23. ↑ "Referendum results: End of Life Choice Act passes, legalising assisted dying". 30 October 2020.
  24. ↑ "2020 Referendum Results by electorate". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.