Will McKenzie/Supplied
Former Albert-Eden Local Board member Will McKenzie claims ballots were being picked up from houses and fraudulently used to vote. (File photo)
A former Auckland board member has claimed he has evidence of “skulduggery” going on in the recent local elections – and wants a re-run of the process.
Will McKenzie, a former member of the Albert-Eden Local Board, was elected in a by-election in 2021 after member Benjamin Lee resigned.
But the final count for the 2022 election for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa council ward left McKenzie, with 16,182 votes, trailing Julie Fairey with 16,966 and Christine Fletcher with 20,021.
There had been lots of stories of ballots being picked up from addresses where the person no longer lived, or one person filling out more than one ballot paper, McKenzie said.
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“There are reports of skulduggery … we think it is time to run a test case.”
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While McKenzie wouldn’t provide evidence, he said he had reports from this election and previous elections.
“There was an anomaly in the results.”
McKenzie and his lawyer, Brian Henry, have submitted a petition to the Auckland District Court to start an inquiry into the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward election.
He wanted it to be re-run, he said.
Creating new checks and balances, such as voters having to sign their names on the ballot paper or have a witness while they voted, were options he put forward for increasing transparency.
Among other claims, the petition said there were issues with political party activists collecting voting papers.
The petition sought a declaration that the election was void and that it be re-held using the voting booth system.
Auckland Council Governance Director Phil Wilson said they have been made aware of legal proceedings in relation to the election of a councillor in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa Ward.
“We can’t comment on active court proceedings, however we note that election fraud is neither acceptable or a common occurrence in local elections.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Will McKenzie was formerly a ward councillor. He was formerly a local board member. Updated at 2.50pm, November 2, 2022.
