Petition calls for inquiry into Papatoetoe poll as voters claim ballots cast without consent

A former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board member has filed a petition in the Manukau District Court calling for a judicial inquiry into the 2025 Papatoetoe local election.

The petition cites turnout anomalies, alleged issues with ballot handling and concerns about the integrity of postal voting.

Lehopoaome Vi Hausia, who served on the board last term and was not re-elected, lodged the petition under section 93 of the Local Electoral Act 2001. A public notice confirms the matter is set down for 21 November.

The petition outlines six grounds for an inquiry, including what the petitioner describes as statistical anomalies in turnout, alleged non-delivery or misuse of ballot papers, irregularities involving special and duplicate votes, discrepancies in voter records and alleged unlawful campaign activity. It also questions what the petitioner calls systemic weaknesses in the postal model.

Papatoetoe was the only Ōtara-Papatoetoe subdivision to record a significant rise in turnout this year. While most Auckland areas saw turnout fall, Papatoetoe increased by more than seven per cent. None of the previous members were returned.

All four seats went to first-time candidates from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team. The petition argues the result is inconsistent with historic voting patterns and warrants examination.

Public notice of the petition filed by Lehopoaome Vi Hausia seeking a judicial inquiry into the 2025 Papatoetoe subdivision election. Photo/Vi Hausia for Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Facebook

Local Democracy Reporting has spoken to two residents who say ballots were cast in their names despite not receiving their papers.

Former Papatoetoe resident Salesi Lelaulu, who now lives in central Auckland, said the voting papers for him and his wife were sent to his old address and used in the election by someone else.

He was shocked to learn a vote had been cast in his name. “I felt violated. Absolutely violated.”

He said he did not know how to lodge a complaint or who to approach, and family matters meant he could not pursue it.

Lelaulu said families who move homes may be more vulnerable to papers being taken and wants to know who allegedly used his ballot.

Petitioner Lehopoaome Vi Hausia, a former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board member, pictured with re-elected board members. Hausia is seeking a judicial inquiry into the Papatoetoe subdivision election. Photo/PMN News/Mary Afemata

“Something needs to be addressed. It needs to be taken seriously and looked into further. I strongly suspect dishonesty.”

A second Papatoetoe resident, a public servant who asked not to be named, said she updated her address with the Electoral Commission months before the election and received written confirmation it was correct. She was travelling for work during the voting period, but her papers never arrived. She later learned she had been recorded as having voted.

“My name was on a list of individuals who had allegedly voted, which is incorrect because I was waiting for my voting papers. It never did,” she said.

“It is actually quite scary to think that in Aotearoa New Zealand, a first-world country, there would be such irregularities within our local election process.”

“Voting is not something that I take very lightly,” she said. “Just the idea that somebody can steal your voting papers and then vote on your behalf… is very disturbing.”

Voting papers for the 2025 local elections. Several Papatoetoe residents say they never received their ballots but were later recorded as having voted. Photo/file

She lodged a police complaint and filed a Privacy Act request asking election services when her alleged ballot was received. She said her father did not receive his papers yet was also recorded as having voted.

“What I want to know is how many other people like me did not receive their voting papers, whose names may be on that list as already voted.”

Election services told her a postal ballot had been received in her name but could not reveal the selections because the ballot was now being held as evidence.

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board member Apulu Reece Autagavaia said he had seen multiple residents raise concerns online.

“There are a lot of people concerned about not receiving their voting papers.

Postal voting for the 2025 Auckland local elections. A petition alleges weaknesses in the postal system allowed ballots to be misused. Photo/file

“It is a high-trust model. If it is true that a whole bunch of people have been ticked off as voted but they did not actually vote, then that trust model is broken and we cannot trust that people are being honest enough not to take other people’s voting papers.”

Auckland Council’s Electoral Officer, Dale Ofsoske, declined to comment, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Police confirmed they had received complaints about alleged electoral fraud linked to the Papatoetoe election, saying enquiries remain ongoing.

Papatoetoe Action Team spokesperson Kunal Bhalla rejected the allegations, describing them as “baseless and politically motivated”. He said Auckland Council and the Electoral Officer had confirmed the results as legitimate and that no member of the team had been contacted by police.

Members of the Papatoetoe-Ōtara Action Team, which won all four Papatoetoe subdivision seats in the 2025 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board election. The team rejects allegations of voting irregularities. Photo/Kunal Bhalla

Bhalla said the team was aware of a separate police complaint involving candidates affiliated with the Labour Party relating to campaign activity in religious venues and believed all complaints should be treated with “equal seriousness and transparency”.

“We ran open meetings, engaged directly with voters and maintained strict ethical standards throughout. Our success reflects genuine grassroots support, not manipulation.”

The court will consider the petition on 21 November. If upheld, it could order a recount or, in rare cases, void the result and require a by-election.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.