A statement released by the VUWSA Election committee today says the mistake on the online ballots had “minimal” influence on the by-election. Almost as minimal as the number of people who turned out to vote.
The committee acknowledged the mishaps reported on by Salient here and here were “not strictly in accordance with the VUWSA constitution”, but the results stand.
The Committee claim the error was made by the external entity which hosts the election. Salient could not reach the company responsible at time of posting.
Returning Officer Mark Maguire was unable to be contacted at the time of press.
Watch here and in the print copy of Salient on Monday for updates.
Full statement below:
Statement regarding July 2009 By-election.
The election committee has considered two complaints about the inclusion of No Confidence as an option where multiple candidates were standing for election. This was not strictly in accordance with the VUWSA constitution.
The election committee has noted that this has happened in past by-elections, with minimal impact. Subsequently, the election committee is of the opinion that the influence on this by-election is minimal, and the results stand.
The error was made by an external entity which VUWSA engages to conduct online voting. All paper ballots – which were generated by the returning officer – were correct. The election committee has instructed the returning officer to ensure that this does not happen for future elections.
Jeremy Greenbrook-Held, Amanda Hill, and Karen Price
VUWSA Election Committee