Independent Rob Oakeshott says how-to-vote card glitch may ruin Cowper chances

Independent candidate Rob Oakeshott admits how-to-vote card error may have ‘blown up’ his Cowper hopes.

Independent candidate for Cowper, Rob Oakeshott, talks to locals on his way to vote today. Picture: Frank Redward

Independent candidate Rob Oakeshott has admitted his chances of winning the tight contest for the NSW mid-north coast seat of Cowper may have “blown up” as a result of a glitch in his how-to-vote card.

MORE : Federal Election 2019 Results

Mr Oakeshott, who is challenging the Nationals for the seat, admitted on the Seven Network tonight that the card may produce informal votes because some voters may think they have to put asterisks in all the boxes except the one for him, rather than number them in order of their preferences.

The how-to-vote card does not direct preferences beyond 1 for Mr Oakeshott, but has red asterisks in the other seven boxes.

A note referring to the asterisks directs voters to number the other boxes.

FEDERAL

2019

1

Cowper

But particularly after the fairly recent state election where numbering preferences is optional, the fear in the Oakeshott camp is that voters may be confused and put asterisks in the boxes on their ballot instead of numbering them, rendering the ballot invalid.

In early counting at one booth, Urunga, with 11 per cent of the vote counted, there were 133 informal votes, compared to 91 in the whole count at the 2016 election.

Interviewed by Seven, Mr Oakeshott said “we will keep an eye on the informal votes.”

“If the informal vote is high here, it is a lesson learnt,” he said.

“If it blows up, it blows up.”

But he said his team “respect the intelligence of the voter.”

“We think our voters can count to eight,” he said.

Just before 9pm, Mr Oakeshott addressed supporters at the Town Green Inn to say the vote was going against him but there remained some hope in a large prepoll vote yet to be counted.

“I am hopeful the prepoll will tell a different story to what we saw on TV,” Mr Oakeshott said.

“Absolute fingers crossed. In a way it would be nice to concede, but it is too early to concede,” he said.

Mr Oakeshott said it might be a case where, like the famous line of Maxwell Smart, he had “missed by that much.”

“If we miss out by that much, I apologise,” he told supporters.

Mr Oakeshott is seeking to renew his political career after retiring from the NSW seat of Lyne in 2013, having supported the Labor government in the hung parliament.

In 2016, he contested Cowper and came within 4.5 per cent of the vote from toppling Nationals incumbent Luke Hartsuyker.

Mr Hartsuyker has retired, and former policeman turned local lawyer Pat Conaghan is contesting the seat for the Nationals.

Mr Oakeshott has campaigned on a platform of high youth unemployment in the electorate, and the failure of successive governments to build a long-promised bypass around Coffs Harbour on the Pacific Highway.