A south Auckland local board re-run election has been hit by fresh concerns, with 10 voters reporting their postal voting papers have been stolen from mailboxes, Newsroom has reported.
Although none of the papers have been used to cast a vote so far.
Returning officer Dale Ofsoske told Newsroom the ten reports of stolen voting papers were being assessed, but unlike the previous election, none of the papers had been used to attempt to register votes.
The election signs of the re run elections must be removed by midnight, 8 April, and voting closes on 9 April. The preliminary results will be out by 9 April with final results announced on 10 April.
The Newsroom report mentions that the turnout so far stands at 20.2 percent, compared with 25 percent at the same stage in the previous election, and below a city-wide high of 31.6 percent recorded earlier in Papatoetoe. In total, 7125 of 35,250 eligible voters have cast ballots with one day remaining, as reported by Newsroom.
Ofsoske confirmed the reports as voting continues in the Papatoetoe subdivision of Auckland Council’s Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, where a court-ordered re-election is underway following last October’s poll.
The original result was voided after allegations of voting irregularities, with a district court finding evidence of about 70 stolen and misused voting papers. The judge accepted this could indicate wider fraud and may have affected the outcome, despite the winning margin being more than 1000 votes ahead of the fifth-placed candidate.
In the following months, a High Court of New Zealand judgment in March had dismissed applications for judicial review filed by the winning candidates of the 2025 Papatoetoe elections, ruling that the court cannot reconsider key factual findings due to limits set under the Local Electoral Act 2001.
The decision, delivered by Justice Jane Anderson on 5 March 2026, declined the orders sought by the applicants and dismissed both the applications for judicial review and requests for declarations.
The four candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team, who previously secured election and were later removed following the District court ruling, are contesting again in a field of 20 candidates. The group, all ethnic Indians and newcomers to local government, did not appear in the district court to defend the original result.
The petitioner in the March ruling of High Court also argued that the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team did not appear in the District Court proceedings in December because due process had not been followed.
The election campaign and legal challenge have been marked by heightened tensions, including allegations of fraud and racism between the Action Team and Labour-aligned opponents, who previously dominated local politics in Papatoetoe, Newsroom has reported.
Ofsoske told Newsroom complaints of stolen voting papers are “extremely low” in most elections.
In other cases during the election period, voters reporting missing papers were often found to be ineligible, either due to living outside the Papatoetoe area or having moved after the enrolment cut-off.
Ofsoske also confirmed to Newsroom that one person had been referred to police for attempting to vote twice, while an unnamed political ticket had been referred over what appeared to be misleading claims in campaign material.
A separate complaint involving the use of Electoral Commission branding in campaign flyers had been resolved after the material was removed.
The re-elected Papatoetoe representatives will join three Labour members on the wider Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, one of 21 across Auckland. Following last year’s election, the Action Team had used its 4–3 majority to appoint its own chair and deputy chair, breaking a long-standing local convention.
Labour candidate Vi Hausia, who lodged the electoral petition that led to the previous result being quashed, told Newsroom that the second campaign had proceeded amid “clear voter apathy, a loss of trust in the postal ballot system, and we have also been dealing with mis- and disinformation from several candidates.”
“The people of Papatoetoe genuinely care about the future of our place,” Newsroom quoted.
He also said: “It is not unusual in local government elections, especially postal-ballot elections, for weaknesses in the process to trigger complaints, however when complaints are made accountability and traceability is difficult and they often go nowhere/don’t get properly investigated.
“I hope this is the last time postal ballot voting is used in NZ democracy,” Newsroom quoted.