A judge has voided a South Auckland local body election result after claims of voter fraud.
Judge Richard McIlraith found there were irregularities that materially affected the election result for the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board.
It means a new election for the subdivision will need to be completed by April 9, 2026.
The case was brought by the board’s former deputy chairman Vi Hausia who lodged a petition against the chief electoral officer Dale Ofsoske.
Hausia alleged widespread theft of voting papers, fraudulent use of stolen voting papers and other “irregularities” in the election of the Papatoetoe subdivision of the board.
Today, he said the court had ruled in favour of democracy and electoral integrity, and the decision was a reminder that democracy is not a given but a privilege.
He believed the “voices of our community” had been undermined.
The case was heard last week in Manukau District Court before Judge McIlraith, who released his decision this afternoon.
Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson described the case as an isolated incident in one part of one local board area, Papatoetoe, and assured Aucklanders that elections have delivered robust results for many years.
“I can’t tell you that a postal ballot is bulletproof. But it is the system we need to use and we will look carefully and quickly at any measures we can take to avoid this ever happening again.
“I am pleased that there is absolutely no suggestion of a problem with the running of the election by the council and its provider, Election Services Ltd,” he said.
The decision means the election needs to be re-run. Nominations for candidates will be opened on December 31 until midday on January 28 next year.
The three Ōtara elected members will remain on the local board, but it will not have the required quorum of four members to make decisions until the election is completed.
Until the newly elected members come into office, decisions will likely need to be made by staff, under delegation within the terms of the existing general delegation to staff. Any decisions taken by the board to date remain valid.
Labour’s Hausia and two others standing for re-election all missed out. In their place, the winning candidates came from a new political ticket, the Papatoetoe-Ōtara Action Team.
Hausia was the highest polling unsuccessful candidate and his vote rose slightly from 2022, but he didn’t come close to winning. The Action Team candidates – Kunal Bhalla, Kushma Nair, Sandeep Saini and Paramjeet Singh – all received 1200 to 2000 more votes than him.
The police have “opened an investigation” but the petition in the Manukau District Court is separate from that.
The court heard evidence, tabled by Ofsoske, that 79 votes were “irregularly” cast.
Hausia’s lawyer, Simon Mitchell, KC, said some of those 79 were in the name of people who have declared they didn’t vote, suggesting someone else used their papers.
Fifty-three of them were from people who declared they did not receive voting papers, so notified the election office and were able to cast a special vote. When the special votes were counted, it was discovered ordinary votes had already been lodged in their name. Of those 53, 50 had gone to candidates from the Action Team.
The ordinary votes cast in these names were discounted, which caused the Action Team’s final votes to go down.
Hausia acknowledged the residents who came forward, his family, his Labour electorate committee and members, the Papatoetoe candidates who supported this process, and his legal team.
“It took courage to speak up and that courage made this outcome possible.
“While the battle has been won, the war to strengthen our democracy is not over. The postal ballot voting system must end,” said Hausia, who plans to stand in the new election.
A public notice providing details of the Papatoetoe subdivision election will be published on the council website on December 31.
Voting papers will be sent to enrolled electors in the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board from March 9, with voting open for one month.
The Herald has sought comment from the Papatoetoe-Ōtara Action Team and from Local Government Minister Simon Watts.
More to come
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