Aotearoa New Zealand’s vote counting system, has room for improvement. according to a report today by the Auditor-General.
The independent review found errors in the candidate vote count at 17 voting stations across 15 electorates and errors in the party vote count at eight voting stations across six electorates.
The errors included miscounts, data entry errors, and one instance of a ballot box being misplaced and not counted.
But Controller and Auditor-General John Ryan points out no seats in Parliament were altered when the vote count was corrected.
“While the Electoral Commission found the errors did not change the candidate or party vote outcomes in any electorates, it is essential that the public has trust and confidence in the integrity of the election process and the official election results,” Ryan says.
He says human error was to blame in all instances, and suggests technology could be used to strengthen the process.
“Investments in systems and processes to improve accuracy are needed. Until then, our election processes will remain vulnerable to the kinds of human error that occurred in the 2023 election.”
“Running an election is a significant and complex undertaking. My findings should not be taken as a criticism of any individuals,” Ryan says.
So what were the errors?
The Office of the Auditor-General identified the following issues with vote counting in the 2023 general election:
• A ballot box from the advance voting period was misplaced and not counted.
• Ballot papers were incorrectly sorted during the official count and consequently not correctly counted.
• Data entry errors resulted in votes being incorrectly allocated to candidates and parties.
• A data entry error was made when advance voting results and election day results were transposed, resulting in errors affecting candidate and party vote counts.
• A data entry error meant election day results were incorrectly entered as both advance voting and election day voting results, resulting in errors affecting candidate and party vote counts.
• A data entry error meant special votes cast during advance voting were incorrectly entered as special votes cast on election day, resulting in errors affecting candidate and party vote counts and reducing the total number of votes.
• A data entry error meant one more candidate special vote was entered than had been counted for the party vote, resulting in errors affecting candidate and party votes.