Failed mayoral aspirant Rex Patrick to challenge ballot count and possibly the validity of the election

Rex Patrick says he will contest the Lord Mayoral count – as the Electoral Commission investigates “irregular” City Council votes and considers prosecution.

Former senator and failed Lord Mayoral candidate Rex Patrick wants a recount of mayoral votes – and says the council election results may even need to be declared void. Picture: Matt Turner

Failed Lord Mayoral aspirant Rex Patrick is one of three candidates considering challenging the validity of the Adelaide City Council results in the Court of Disputed Returns.

Mr Patrick has also asked for a recount of ballots for any errors made inside the tally room, after he lost to Jane Lomax-Smith by 52 votes on Saturday.

“There are candidates who have spoken to lawyers who are confident that they could convince a court that the election was corrupted,” Mr Patrick told The Advertiser.

“We want to make sure the election outcome reflects the will of the people and that can’t happen where there has been illegal practices.

Newly-elected Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith. Picture: David Mariuz

“None of this is about the individuals. It’s about drawing a line in the sand and saying we have to stop this.”

Ms Lomax-Smith is not accused of any wrongdoing.

The disputed returns include results for mayor, Central Ward and Area Ward.

The Electoral Commission of SA on Saturday rejected 23 false ballot papers from the Central Ward count, which included Lord Mayoral votes.

Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry on Monday confirmed in a letter to Mr Patrick the ballots were rejected after they were “filled out and returned by a person other than the voter”.

“Those votes were excluded from the count as part of the scrutiny of the declarations and further investigation is being undertaken as to the source of that material with a view to possible future prosecutions,” he wrote.

A total of 90 ballots from the Central Ward were referred for further scrutiny after The Advertiser revealed allegations of a voter scam involving four city apartment buildings home to a large number of international students.

Former Central Ward councillor Alexander Hyde confirmed he was also seeking legal advice – he placed fifth in the race for four Central Ward seats on the weekend.

“I’m strongly considering going to the Court of Disputed Returns based on information I’ve gathered and the findings of the commissioner. Those 23 votes are the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Mr Patrick added he had also been made aware of “allegations in the last council election that there was mischievous or perhaps illegal practices taking place”.

“Irrespective if there is a recount which finds errors in the tally room, if I’m elected Lord Mayor, assuming the (legal) advice we’ve received doesn’t change, I would still petition the court to have the election called void,” he said.

“This is not a political issue, it’s an integrity issue.”

International students can enrol to vote in local government elections after one month of residing in the county.

Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith also raised concerns earlier this month of “vote harvesting and orchestration of voting by candidates in the Adelaide CBD involving international students”.

“Whilst nobody would wish to prevent migrants exercising their rights as residents or property owners, the capacity of international students to enrol after as little as one month in the country is clearly open to manipulation,” she wrote in a letter to Local Government Minister Geoff Brock.

The recount request by Mr Patrick was one of 36 received by the Electoral Commission of SA – they will only be conducted if there is a prospect a recount could alter the election result.

ECSA is also investigating alleged scams operating in West Torrens and Marion councils, which received two and one recount requests, respectively.