New Zealand 1938 general election
What was the result of the 1938 general election in New Zealand?
New Zealand Labour Party won 53 of 80 seats with 55.8% of the vote. 95.8% of registered voters cast a ballot.
New Zealand- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : New Zealand Labour Party won 53 of 80 seats with 55.8% of the vote; 95.8% of registered voters cast a ballot.
- New Zealand Labour Party 53 55.8%
- New Zealand National Party 25 40.3%
- Seats won
- Share of the vote
- New Zealand Labour Party53
- New Zealand National Party25
- Independents2
Key numbers
55.8%
Share of the vote won by New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party won 53 of 80 seats. A majority needs 41.
95.8%
Voter turnout
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | % | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Labour Party | 53 | 55.8 | 528,290 |
| New Zealand National Party | 25 | 40.3 | 381,081 |
| Independents | 2 | 3.9 | 37,022 |
Votes by party
- New Zealand Labour Party 528,290
- New Zealand National Party 381,081
- Independents 37,022
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
ParlGov marks results before 1945 as experimental: they may need revision, so we compare them with no other election.
How many people voted?
95.8% of the 995,173 registered voters cast a ballot (953,436 ballots). 946,393 of them were valid votes.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- New Zealand Labour Party55.8% of votes66.3% of seats
- New Zealand National Party40.3% of votes31.3% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 9.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 2.1 by votes and 1.9 by seats; New Zealand Labour Party led New Zealand National Party by 15.5 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of