Whistleblower raises fresh vote-rigging allegations over Manurewa election

Fresh allegations of vote rigging during last year’s local government elections have been referred to Auckland Council and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), with both organisations understood to be assessing the claims, The New Zealand Herald has reported.

A whistleblower approached the two organisations this week and has also alerted police and Election Services, which runs Auckland’s local body elections.

The whistleblower has supplied photographs purporting to show bundles of stolen ballot papers from the Manurewa Local Board election.

The allegations claim the ballot papers were taken from letterboxes at night, returned to a Manurewa office, opened and marked for certain candidates before being resealed and sent back to the electoral officer at Election Services, Herald has reported.

The claims have not been verified.

The photographs supplied to authorities this week also show the names and addresses of some voters on the ballot papers, Herald reported.

The SFO has declined to confirm or deny whether it has received a complaint or begun an investigation.

Auckland Council governance and engagement general manager Lou-Ann Ballantyne said on Tuesday: “These are very serious allegations that we were made aware of today and we have not confirmed any next steps.

“Nevertheless, we would ensure that any allegations of this nature, which suggest that a law has been broken, would be referred to the appropriate authority," Herald quoted. 

In a follow-up statement yesterday, Ballantyne said the council was seeking police advice about what action it should take and had also contacted the SFO.

She said the council had not received a formal complaint and did not yet have all the facts.

“The council has limited ability to investigate allegations of unlawful activity, but we will fully support appropriate agencies with any investigation they are leading.

“Separately, we will continue to support the Manurewa Local Board to perform its functions," Herald quoted her as saying. 

Election Services principal electoral officer Dale Ofsoske said he was not aware of any alleged fraudulent voting in last year’s Manurewa election.

“There were no alerts to me from electors that voting packs had not been received by them – as occurred in Papatoetoe.”

Ofsoske said possessing another person’s voting paper was an offence punishable by up to six months in prison.

Voting in another person’s name was an offence punishable by up to two years in prison.

“These allegations are very serious, and as such, I will discuss these with the police.”

A police spokesman said officers were aware of the photographs and were making inquiries into their contents.

The Herald has sought comment from the local board.

The latest allegations come after claims surrounding the 2025 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, which included the widespread theft of voting papers and fraudulent use of stolen ballots.

Judge Richard McIlraith later found that voting irregularities had materially affected that election and voided the result.

At a preliminary hearing, McIlraith ordered five ballot boxes containing votes from the electorate to be scrutinised.

The examination identified 79 voting papers that had been cast without the knowledge of the rightful voters.

Papatoetoe was the only Auckland electorate to record a significant increase in voter turnout.

While turnout fell in other parts of Auckland, voting numbers in Papatoetoe rose by more than 7 per cent.

All four seats were won by first-time candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team.

Members of the team categorically denied wrongdoing and filed proceedings in the High Court seeking a judicial review of the District Court's decision.

The High Court upheld the District Court decision to void the election result.