SA narrowly avoids ‘Nincompoop democrazy capital of the world’ mantle in election count

Questions grow over SA election casual staff, slow polling booth openings, a commissioner on leave and random votes discovered long after counting, Mike Smithson says.

The dust has finally settled on the Narungga election result, but the long-term mud is likely to stick to the SA Electoral Commission.

In what universe does one of the state’s highest offices of integrity leave behind boxes of unaccounted votes in a dusty office for three weeks?

I’m glad One Nation MP Chantelle Thomas has won the seat after that lost batch was finally tallied and increased her margin over Liberal Tania Stock to 74.

Had the result changed, after the winner had been declared by ECSA, South Australia would have rightly been labelled the ‘nincompoop democrazy capital of the world’.

The Liberals are still casting other doubts over the propriety of the 2026 election and rightly so, why wouldn’t they?

They’ll grasp at anything that they can.

Despite myriad problems, the Libs were still punished badly, Labor handsomely rewarded with a record victory and One Nation landing the title of a legitimate political force.

It stems back to a surprise announcement last Thursday that ECSA had “identified a number of unopened absent ordinary ballot papers and declaration ballot papers that were returned from the district of Stuart.”

In essence, they included voters passing through the northern national gateway of Stuart during the campaign or on election day, who were casting their vote for another electorate in which they were enrolled.

There’s nothing new or strange in this practice, especially considering the vastness of........

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