ACCUSATIONS of electoral fraud in last year’s Indi election should be treated seriously and no doubt every North East voter will be watching keenly to see what the Australian Electoral Commission investigation finds.
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About 20 young supporters of Cathy McGowan are under scrutiny for allegedly changing their address back to Indi despite living, working or studying outside the electorate.
There is no implication whatsoever Ms McGowan knew of any alleged misconduct, her campaign team denies any collusion, and all say they welcome the investigation.
Given the winning margin was just 439 votes, every vote really did count — but it goes much deeper than that.
There’s little question supporters changed their addresses; what the Australian Electoral Commission needs to determine is if these were in good faith or to intentionally play with the system.
Ms McGowan’s campaign was run on honesty and ethics — and so people will hold her to those high standards. Based on that, no matter if two, 20 or 200 votes are deemed fraudulent, it could have lasting repercussions for her tenure.
There is another argument: Ms McGowan’s team says this highlights lack of clarity in the commission’s guidelines, as students can remain enrolled at home.
This too is a good point and means this situation likely arose in other electorates — particularly in marginal seats.
If the commission is serious about its own reform, it should re-examine voter enrolments in all seats.
