Citizen only voting poll

The Herald reports:

New polling suggests a majority of New Zealanders support only allowing citizens to vote in general elections. 

The polling, conducted by Curia Market Research for the Taxpayers’ Union, also finds more Labour, Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and Act supporters advocated for the policy than were against it, despite all four parties opposing it. 

The poll, obtained by the Herald, came after New Zealand First announced in July it would campaign on limiting voting to only New Zealand citizens, with leader Winston Peters arguing citizenship created a formal bond of allegiance, belonging, responsibility and democratic authority that did not extend to those on permanent residence visas.

One thousand people were surveyed between August 1 and 4; 300 were polled online while the remaining 700 were contacted via landline or cellphone. The margin of error was 3.1%.

Of those polled, 59% responded “Yes” when asked: “Should voting in general elections be restricted to New Zealand citizens only?”

Some 32% did not support limiting voting to citizens only, while the remaining 9% were unsure.