More than 80 unopened ballot papers have been discovered in the South Australian seat of Narungga, weeks after One Nation's Chantelle Thomas won the seat by just 58 votes. The state electoral commission confirmed the find on Thursday, prompting a new count scheduled for Friday.
The uncounted ballots were among over 600 sealed and unopened votes returned to the commission from a Port Pirie early voting centre in the neighbouring seat of Stuart. Deputy electoral commissioner Leah McLay said the count aims to determine whether the result would have differed had those ballots been included in the initial count and subsequent recount.
The Narungga result had already been declared, but the discovery offers a sliver of hope to defeated Liberal candidate Tania Stock. Liberal leader Ashton Hurn said the commission had “some explaining to do” and called for transparency in the counting process.
Deputy Premier Kyam Maher expressed disappointment over the error but noted there was no suggestion of interference or tampering. He said the government would conduct an independent review of the election, alongside the commission's usual review, following other issues such as delays and understaffing.
The commission may seek legal advice and petition the court of disputed returns if the new count changes the outcome. The Narungga win gave One Nation four lower house seats and three upper house seats in the March state election, which saw a landslide victory for the Labor government under Premier Peter Malinauskas.
