Seacombe Gardens man charged with faking ballots in 2022 Marion Council voting scam

A 44-year-old man has been charged with faking votes during a 2022 council election.

A Seacombe Gardens man has been charged with forging ballot votes in a southern suburbs council election.

The 44-year-old, who is not a sitting councillor, was ­arrested on Monday for allegedly providing fake ballot ­papers in the 2022 Marion Council election.

A day before polling began in November, the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) confirmed it was ­investigating suspected voting irregularities in the election, including 490 returned declaration envelopes suspected of not being completed by the eligible voter.

At the time, Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry said the envelopes “appeared to have been submitted by the same individuals” and assured that the ECSA had taken action to ­“ensure the integrity of the election.”

It is currently unclear whether any of those ballots were tampered with and whether the man’s alleged ­actions had any impact on the election outcome.

The Marion Council voting scam was one of three being ­investigated by the ECSA during 2022, alongside alleged scams in the West Torrens and Adelaide City councils.

Facing nine charges, the ­accused has been bailed and will face Adelaide Magistrates Court in late September.