The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is currently investigating the recovery of nearly 2,000 missing ballot papers from the recent federal election, which were discovered at the home of a temporary electoral worker in Sydney. AEC officials have clarified that, since the votes had already been counted, this incident did not affect the outcome of the election in the NSW electorate of Barton.
The situation arose when the electoral worker took custody of a secure container containing 1,866 House of Representatives votes from a polling station in Hurstville after the polls closed. However, instead of delivering it to the AEC’s central counting facility, the worker retained the container. AEC officials became aware of the missing container during a routine recount, although all other ballots from the same polling location were accounted for.
An AEC representative confirmed that they explored numerous avenues in pursuit of the missing container and ultimately learned that the authorised transport officer had inadvertently kept it. Fortunately, the container was recovered intact, with its security seals unbroken and all ballots unharmed. Following its return, the ballots were subjected to a thorough recount, which corroborated the initial count, confirming there was no impact on the final election results.
Despite the authorities deeming the incident unintentional, it highlighted communication issues with the worker involved. The AEC expressed its concern that this oversight occurred, emphasising the importance of maintaining the integrity of their procedures during polling. They acknowledged that while the situation was remedied due to existing ballot tracking processes, further investigation is underway to determine if any enhancements to the return of election materials are necessary for future elections.
The Barton seat was secured by Labor’s Ash Ambihaipahar, who won decisively against Liberal candidate Fiona Douskou, receiving more than 60% of the two-party-preferred vote. The AEC’s inquiry aims to bolster confidence in electoral operations and prevent similar occurrences in upcoming elections.