How 81 Missing Ballots Could Flip a South Australian One Nation Victory

A by-election could be triggered in the South Australian state seat of Narungga, after 81 uncounted votes were discovered in several sealed boxes misdirected to the neighbouring electorate of Stuart.

One Nation candidate Chantelle Thomas was declared the winner on April 2 following a prolonged count where she beat Liberal candidate Tania Stock by just 58 votes.

The win saw a 32 percent swing to One Nation, but the discovery of the uncounted papers, found during a post-election audit, has thrown the result into a legal grey area.

The Port Pirie Bungle

The missing ballots, consisting of 77 general votes and four declaration votes, were cast at the Port Pirie Early Voting Centre.

While Port Pirie sits within the electorate of Stuart, it is a major hub for voters from the neighbouring Narungga district.

Acting Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay said the election result could not be changed as it had been declared, but said a by-election remained possible.

“The commission will support any independent external review into the 2026 State Election,” McLay told The Epoch Times.

If the recount scheduled for April 17 shows a different outcome to the declared winner, the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) will petition the Court of Dispute of Returns. Only the court has the authority to void the original declaration and order a by-election.

Political Fallout

Thomas, who would be the first One Nation MP in the South Australian lower house, questioned the integrity of the process but remained confident her lead would hold.

“My people in Narungga have already spoken. They’ve been left in the dark once again,” she said.

“It’s just another hurdle, I’m not worried. I know that obviously I still will be standing here as the MP.”

While the ECSA identified roughly 600 other “stray” votes across the state, Narungga is the only district where the margin is small enough for the missing ballots to mathematically overturn the result.

The ECSA is conducting an internal investigation alongside a planned independent review to determine how the ballots were misplaced in boxes belonging to the neighbouring seat of Stuart.