Division 8 recount requested after Cooper claims of polling booth chaos.

Bundaberg’s Division 8 incumbent Steve Cooper is demanding a recount amid claims of polling booth chaos.

Incumbent division 8 councillor Steve Cooper requested a vote recount on Monday afternoon, alleging that scrutineers affiliated with challenger Shorne Sanders put “undue pressure” on electoral officials.

Incumbent Division 8 councillor Steve Cooper requested a vote recount on Monday afternoon, alleging that “undue pressure” was placed on electoral officials who were suffering from fatigue.

With 87.13 per cent of the votes counted on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Cooper (3059 votes) trailed Mr Sanders (3067 votes) by just eight votes.

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Mr Cooper said he contacted Electoral Commission Queensland via email on Monday afternoon to request a recount, claiming a person “exerted undue pressure” on an ECQ official involved in counting the votes.

Mr Cooper said he did not witness the incident himself and declined to provide further details as to the nature of it, but said he was informed by a third party.

“It created emotional distress for the staff,” Mr Cooper said.

“I did check on it to make sure that the information was correct, so I’m confident that it did happen.”

Mr Cooper claimed someone had "exerted undue pressure" on ECQ officials involved in counting votes for the Division 8 election. File photo.

Mr Sanders said he was aware that Mr Cooper had requested a recount, but was unaware of the claim that someone had exerted undue pressure on ECQ officials, which he rejected.

Mr Cooper also said the well-documented shortage of ECQ staff may have affected the accuracy of the count.

“The strenuous nature of the counting process coupled with the long hours may have contributed to continue to the staff fatigue, which I’m told was a real issue by various people that were in the different booths,” Mr Cooper said.

Other reasons cited by Mr Cooper in his request included the well-documented shortage of ECQ staff on polling day that he said may have affected the accuracy of the count.

Mr Sanders said the staff shortage caused delays that were “frustrating” for voters, but had reservations that it would have contributed towards determining the outcome of the election.

“Whether that’s going to be the cause of someone winning or losing, I don’t really have an opinion on that one,” he said.

“The people inside, they had to do the best they could with what they’d been given.

“It’s just unfortunate it was disorganised, but I’d like to think that wouldn’t be the reason why some people would win or lose.”

Mr Cooper said ECQ informed him his request was being reviewed and he would be advised of the outcome by Thursday.

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Under the Local Government Act 2011, ECQ can direct the returning officer to re-count some or all of the ballot papers prior to the result being declared.

In response to questions to ECQ seeking confirmation a recount request had been received, and whether it had received any reports of anyone pressuring officials involved with the Division 8 count, ECQ said it was unable to provide comment on recount requests.