The NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) has seized Wagga’s council ballot papers and will count them in Sydney.
Electoral commissioner John Schmidt sent an email to candidates on Monday night saying there were “concerns” about the speed of the batching and data entry at the returning officer’s office.
Council candidate Richard Foley said he had been “on and off the phone with Sydney” and the commissioner was “a bit concerned”.
“They’re going to be matching ballot papers with attendance marked off on the roll on the day,” Mr Foley said.
“I’m not saying there’s anything dodgy there, but with any discrepancy they’re better off to start again.
“This isn’t a slight on local staff.”
“The NSW Electoral Commission has put these measures in place to ensure the final result is not delayed,” Mr Schmidt’s email said.
A spokesman said the commission was “mindful” of the need to provide results in a timely manner.
“The commission has decided that this will be best achieved by having the ballot papers data entered at the counting centre in Riverwood,” he said. “(NSWEC) has put these measures in place to ensure the final result is not delayed.”
Australia First candidate Lorraine Sharp said party chairman Jim Saleam will be scrutineering the vote in Sydney.
”We may have another one or two to scrutineer as well,” Ms Sharp said.
”It’s good to see the integrity of the system and overall I think Marian (Coombs, Wagga returning officer) and her team have done a fantastic job. They’ve worked very hard and in conjunction with their superiors have decided to take this course of action.”
The first count seemed to show Country Labor’s Dan Hayes and Vanessa Keenan would get two of the nine seats. Rod Kendall and fellow Next Generation ticket candidate Tim Koschel also looked like they would be elected. Councillors Paul Funnell and Kerry Pascoe also looked likely to be elected.
Deputy mayor Dallas Tout and councillors Greg Conkey and Alan Brown looked unlikely to be returned.
Mr Foley said he thought the vote would be recounted either way, with the gap between party rivals the Greens and Australia First so narrow.
“In the spirit of democracy it will be good to see a full recount,” he said.
The recount will commence at 7.30am on Wednesday.
Stephen Mudd
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
