Duplicate Ballots, Long Lines: SA Election Review

0:00It's March 31st. This is Sydney News Today, your AI-powered local news. A former Liberal MP in South Australia named David Pisoni got a shock when his post-of-vote showed up with two ballot papers for the upper house. He applied for one ahead of the March 21st election, but ended up with an extra legislative council ballot. He returned the spare one unused and flagged it to the Electoral Commission, who called it a rare slip from over 130,000 applications. Meanwhile, the election had other headaches like long lines at polls, tech glitches for staff logins, and understaffing even after tons of early votes. Premier Peter Malinowskas admitted these logistical snags were worse than usual and promised a full review, independent from government as standard, after every poll. Pisoni was not thrilled with the commission's casual brush-off, stressing how serious duplicate ballots could be for a system-trusted worldwide. Opposition leader Ashton Hurn pouted on, frustrated by slow counts more than a week out, and questioning if the commission has enough resources.

1:05Now, the commission plans a deep dive review, with a report heading to Parliament soon. They note the count got tricky from record candidates in shifting voter habits, but it's on track. The real nail-biter is Narongas seat on the York Peninsula, where one nation's Chantal Thomas leaves Liberals' taniestock by under 100. Votes on two-party preferred. Hurn says it'll go to the wire, likely triggering a recount to double-check every ballot.