The electoral commission in South Australia has discovered more than 80 unopened ballot papers in the electorate of Narungga, casting doubt on the result of the March state election. One Nation’s Chantelle Thomas won the seat by just 58 votes, but the new ballots could alter the outcome.
The South Australian Electoral Commission confirmed on Thursday that 81 sealed and unopened votes were found at a Port Pirie early voting centre in the neighbouring seat of Stuart. A further count will be held on Friday to determine whether the result would have differed had those ballots been included in the initial count and subsequent recount.
The discovery offers a sliver of hope to the defeated Liberal candidate, Tania Stock. The commission had already conducted a recount due to the tight margin. Deputy Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay stated that the purpose of the count is to ensure the integrity of the Narungga result.
South Australian Deputy Premier Kyam Maher said there was no suggestion of interference or tampering, but acknowledged the disappointment when things do not go exactly as they should. The commission may seek legal advice and petition the court of disputed returns if the new count changes the result.
One Nation’s victory in Narungga gave the party four lower house seats and three upper house seats. Liberal leader Ashton Hurn said the commission has “some explaining to do” and called for a full understanding of where the unaccounted votes came from.
