Seven students and four retirees, with very different levels of experience of voting, both found surprises when they used the new edition of Vote Compass.
For some of the students, November’s general election will be their first while the retirees estimated they had each voted in between 15 and 20 elections.
But they had one thing in common: none had previously used Vote Compass, the online tool that compares voters' views with party policies.
Vote Compass is live now at 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass
Vote Compass, run by Vox Pop Labs in association New Zealand political scientists and TVNZ, does not tell people how to vote. It shows how their answers compare with the policy positions taken by the political parties.
The 11 Aucklanders were invited by 1News to work through the tool’s 30 propositions, discuss the issues raised and privately view their results.
The exercise quickly moved beyond ticking boxes on a screen.
Thirty questions and plenty to discuss
One proposition asked whether migrants applying for New Zealand citizenship should be required to pass a test on the country’s laws and values.
Matthew, one of the students who gathered in Albert Park for the exercise, questioned how such a citizenship test could be designed.
“It’s a hard thing to decide what the country’s values are,” he said. “I’m not sure that that’s a test that you could really design and give to migrants as a broad population.”
At the retirement village across town, another proposition prompted a more divided discussion: “Police should be allowed to order rough sleepers to move on.”
Chrissy strongly disagreed.
Lahraine raised the impact on businesses when people were sleeping or urinating in their doorways.
“I think there are other ways of doing it, though,” Chrissy replied.
The same question prompted a personal response from 19-year-old Sian.
“As a Māori wahine, it’s really unfortunate because a lot of the time I see my own people there,” she said. “At the end of the day, where are they going to go?”
Their discussions demonstrated how a short policy proposition could prompt different considerations, even among people who ultimately selected the same answer.
Voting for the first time
Several of the students said Vote Compass would now become part of their preparation for their first general election.
Lily, 19, said she was excited to finally have her say.
“I’ve been working since 16, so, like, paying taxes,” she said.
Another student said researching political parties could be difficult, particularly amid the volume of information encountered online.
“Especially for students, with the noise on social media and just random stuff that you see, it can be hard to hear what parties’ policies actually are,” they said. “This is probably a good tool for that.”
One participant said the questions prompted the group to consider issues they had not previously thought about.
“It encourages you to reflect on your own beliefs and what’s important to you, and make an informed decision when it comes to voting.”
Decades of political change
The retirees brought memories of changing governments, leaders and political systems to the table.
Their answers also showed that political views are not necessarily fixed over a lifetime.
Lahraine grew up in a farming family in Taranaki, which she described as a strongly National environment.
After moving to Auckland, working in the police and becoming involved in social services, she supported Labour for many years.
How to find out where your views line up with the parties' policies. (Source: Other)
Chris also described his politics shifting as his circumstances changed.
“In my early days, I was more centre - still centre, but to the left a little bit,” he said. “Then, as I had my own business and things, you move a little bit.”
Chrissy said her result was more politically mixed than she had anticipated.
“You’re not blindly red-blue, or green, or whatever,” she said. “You’ve got your combinations.”
The reveal
After completing the questionnaire, each participant privately viewed where Vote Compass had placed them and explored how their answers compared with the parties across individual issues.
Some found what they expected. Others were surprised by parts of their results.
One student said the result had given them a clearer idea of what to investigate before voting.
“I was a little shocked by some of it,” they said. “I’m definitely going to be doing more research, and this has given me a gauge of where I want to research now.”
At the retirement village, Chris’s result prompted an immediate reaction.
“Oh... oh... oh, dear,” he said.
His wife, Jan, looked at the screen.
“We’re going to have to talk about this later.”
University of Auckland political scientist Danny Osborne said Vote Compass shifted attention away from polling and political personalities.
“It moves away from that horse-race sort of politics - about who’s in the lead and who’s doing this and who’s doing that — and focuses specifically on the policies.”
Around 700,000 people completed Vote Compass during New Zealand’s 2023 election campaign and more than 80,000 had already taken part in the 2026 edition by last evening - just over a day after it was launched.
As more New Zealanders use the tool this year, their answers will begin building a new picture of the issues voters agree on — and those pulling them apart ahead of the election on November 7.
Vote Compass is live now at 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass
SHARE ME