❓ Hon Tjorn Sibma questions the Minister for Electoral Affairs regarding discrepancies between the Minister's statement and an ABC report concerning missing ballots in the Cockburn local government election. The Minister rejects the premise of the question, stating there were no missing ballots.
AnsweredQoN 971Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Local government elections—Cockburn district
971. Hon Tjorn Sibma to
the minister representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs:
I refer to the
minister's answer to my question this week about the recent local government
elections.
(1) Noting the minister's statement that there "were
no missing ballots for the Cockburn district election", how does the
minister account for the ABC online report of 22 October 2025 that claimed that
297 ballot papers were not included in the initial count, leading to the
incorrect publication of provisional results on the commission's website?
(2) Is it correct that 297 ballot papers were not
included in the initial count?
(3) If yes to (2), what explanation is there for
this outcome, which the acting Electoral Commissioner described as a
"procedural error"?
971. Hon Tjorn Sibma to
the minister representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs:
I refer to the
minister's answer to my question this week about the recent local government
elections.
(1) Noting the minister's statement that there "were
no missing ballots for the Cockburn district election", how does the
minister account for the ABC online report of 22 October 2025 that claimed that
297 ballot papers were not included in the initial count, leading to the
incorrect publication of provisional results on the commission's website?
(2) Is it correct that 297 ballot papers were not
included in the initial count?
(3) If yes to (2), what explanation is there for
this outcome, which the acting Electoral Commissioner described as a
"procedural error"?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me
by the Minister for Electoral Affairs.
(1)–(3) The minister rejects the premise
of the question. There were no missing ballots for the Cockburn district
election. During the process of counting, staff conducted a verification
process to confirm that the number of ballots counted aligned with the number
of ballots cast. Provisional results are, by their very nature, provisional.
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me
by the Minister for Electoral Affairs.
(1)–(3) The minister rejects the premise
of the question. There were no missing ballots for the Cockburn district
election. During the process of counting, staff conducted a verification
process to confirm that the number of ballots counted aligned with the number
of ballots cast. Provisional results are, by their very nature, provisional.
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