Votes being investigated in Marion council election in third alleged scam

Authorities are investigating hundreds of votes suspected of being fake in a suburban Adelaide council election scam that’s already hit the city and West Torrens.

Nearly 500 ballots in the Marion Council election are suspected of being false by the Electoral Commission of SA, which is now investigating three cases of voting irregularities.

Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry on Friday wrote to all candidates in the Marion, West Torrens and Adelaide City councils to inform them of investigations in their areas.

The latest alleged voting scam in Marion Council – a day before polling begins – involves 490 returned declaration envelopes suspected of not being completed by the eligible voter.

“Our scrutiny processes have identified a series of ballot paper envelopes that appear to have been submitted by the same individuals,” Mr Sherry said.

Electoral Commissioner of SA Mick Sherry.

He added that while attempts to “unduly influence” the outcomes of elections were “extremely rare” there were thorough scrutiny processes in place to detect irregularities.

“While this is extremely disappointing, I can assure you that ECSA has taken action to ensure the integrity of the election, and in the coming weeks and months, there will be further investigation,” Mr Sherry said.

The Advertiser last week revealed the voter scam in the Adelaide City Council election had targeted four apartment buildings home to a large number of international students.

It was understood the students were targeted by Chinese people collecting blank ballot papers for Central Ward candidate Jing Li, who has consistently denied he was involved.

Mr Sherry said about 90 returned declaration envelopes from the Central Ward had been referred for further scrutiny.

Claims by two councillors about organised mass enrolment in a West Torrens Council ward has resulted in approximately 50 envelopes being further scrutinised.

Two people with a wad of ballot papers outside the Vision Apartment building. Picture: Supplied

Mr Sherry said additional processes had been added to the scrutiny processes, including assessing returned declaration envelopes against enrolment forms and calling electors to confirm their details and whether they voted in the election.

“Where discrepancies are identified, these will be rejected from the count,” he said.

“Investigations are continuing into these matters, and I will consider, as a result of the investigation, if matters will be referred for prosecution.”

The Electoral Commissioner does not have the power to halt or stop elections under the Local Government (Electoral) Act.

A surge in ballots received in the final week of polling has resulted in 402,061 votes being received from 32.3 per cent of eligible voters, compared with 398,215 votes in 2018.

Final numbers of excluded or rejected ballots will be confirmed by ECSA at the start of count on Saturday at 9am.