By Victoria Stone-Meadows
LOCAL government watchdogs are investigating reports that Cranbourne residents had ballot papers stolen from their letterboxes.
In a statement the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate confirmed that it was looking into a claim made about an incident in the City of Casey’s Mayfield Ward.
It said another five complaints have been made about other incidents in Casey.
“The Inspectorate has investigated a report that residents in an area of Cranbourne may have had postal ballot papers for the 2016 Casey City Council elections removed from their letter boxes,” the statement said.
“Inspectorate staff completed a door knock of the area and a small number of properties confirmed they did not receive ballot papers.
“This matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation.”
The Victorian Electoral Commission confirmed scrutineers were delayed in starting the extraction process for Mayfield Ward but said there was no suspicious reason for this.
“What we have received is large amount of mail at one time due to the extended postal ballot for the 2016 elections,” a VEC spokesperson said.
The Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate received about 250 complaints from across the state during the 2016 election including six complaints from the Casey area.
