The entire budget of the Commission, an independent Crown entity set up by Parliament, is taxpayer-funded.
There were 3.5 million people enrolled to vote but the Commission opted to order an extra 100,000 as a buffer, a spokesman told the Herald.
In previous elections, a pen has been connected to voting booths by a piece of string but they were not available this year.
The pens were supplied due to the impact of Covid-19, with people also encouraged to bring their own along with them when voting.
A range of other measures was put in place to try and minimise the risk of the virus, including QR code scanning and hand sanitising upon entry.
Supplied-pen users had the option of leaving them behind at the voting area in a box designated to collect them or they could take them home.
Any leftover pens will be given to schools, charities, and community organisations, the Commission spokesperson said.
However, it will not be known how many pens were used during the election as the pens will be distributed directly from voting stations.
The Commission placed an order for 2 million pens in May, followed by a second order for 1.6 million in September.
"We investigated local manufacturers (and indeed Australasian manufacturers), but none could supply the pens in the quantities, and within the timeframes, required," the Commission spokesman said.
"The only manufacturers that could do so were in China."
Labour won the election and will govern for another three years after the party received almost 50 per cent of the vote.
The result is the most any party has achieved under MMP and is easily enough to govern without relying on another party.
Elsewhere, Saturday night was an absolute bloodbath for Judith Collins' National Party, coming in well under 30 per cent.
