Summarised by Centrist
A South Auckland local body election will be re-run after a District Court judge ruled that voting irregularities materially affected the result, raising wider questions about the integrity of New Zealand’s postal ballot system and oversight of local elections.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts says he is closely monitoring the case after Judge Richard McIlraith voided the Papatoetoe subdivision result for the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board.
The decision followed a petition by former deputy chair Vi Hausia, who alleged widespread theft and misuse of voting papers during the election.
In his ruling, McIlraith said he had “grave concerns” that the irregularities uncovered were only “the tip of the iceberg”, adding that fraudulent voting had “permeated or infected” the election to such an extent that it was more likely than not the outcome had been distorted.
He said there was a real risk that votes had been cast by people other than those for whom the papers were intended, and that many of those votes appeared to favour candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team.
The court heard evidence that 79 votes were irregularly cast. Of those, 53 involved voters who said they never received ballot papers, requested special votes, and later discovered ordinary votes had already been lodged in their names.
According to evidence presented, 50 of those votes went to Action Team candidates, who swept all four available seats despite being first-time candidates on a new ticket.
Watts confirmed the case had been referred to police by Auckland Council and its electoral officer. While calling the situation disappointing, he said it showed “the appropriate guardrails are in place and functioning as they should”.
Hausia welcomed the ruling, saying it was a win for democracy but also exposed serious weaknesses in postal voting. “The system is known to be easy to interfere with, and it’s hard to ensure accountability,” he said, arguing the risks had now “come to fruition”.
Auckland Council said the case was isolated but acknowledged the local board will lack quorum until the re-run election is completed. In the interim, decisions are expected to be made by staff under delegation.
Nominations for the new election open on December 31, with voting scheduled to conclude by April 9, 2026.
