Statement from Acting Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay
A count of Narungga ballot papers retrieved from the district of Stuart occurred at the Electoral Commission this morning.
The purpose of the count was for the Commission to determine whether the result in Narungga would have differed, had those ballots been included in the initial count and subsequent recount.
There were 81 ballot papers opened in the presence of scrutineers. Of those, 1 was rejected and 4 were deemed informal. Of the 76 votes counted in a two-party preferred count, 46 were for Chantelle Thomas, One Nation and 30 were for Tania Stock, Liberals. Had the ballot papers been included in the original count and subsequent recount, the margin in favour of Chantelle Thomas One Nation would have increased from 58 to 74.
I have therefore determined that the result in Narungga would not have differed had the ballots been included.
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