A report from the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) exposes a number of issues impacting voter turnout, candidate compliance and electoral integrity.
The official report into the 2022 Council Elections, presented in Parliament by Minister for Local Government Joe Szakacs, covers elections for 66 of South Australia’s 67 councils and includes 19 legislative reform recommendations.
It shows modest gains in voter participation – up 1.3 per cent to 32.9 per cent – but warns that improvements are stalling.
“Democracy works best when everyone participates,” says Local Government Association of SA President Heather Holmes-Ross.
“When people choose not to vote in local elections, they give up their say on decisions that affect their neighbourhoods, families and futures.”
Mayor Holmes-Ross backed ECSA’s key recommendation to move local government elections to the year after state elections.
In 2022, South Australians faced three major votes in nine months – state, federal and council elections – contributing to voter fatigue, particularly in metropolitan areas where turnout was just 29.6 per cent.
Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry highlighted the operational strain of concurrent state and local election cycles.
“The requirement to deliver two major election events in the same calendar year places significant strain on the small cohort of specialist staff,” he wrote, citing delayed planning and impacts on staff wellbeing.
The report also exposes deeper structural issues.
Candidate nominations dropped from 1374 in 2018 to 1256, and nine elections required supplementary polls due to insufficient nominations. Two failed entirely. Electoral complaints surged to 570 – up from 317 in 2018 – largely due to social media activity.
Importantly, the report reveals that 45 elected candidates failed to lodge required campaign donation returns on time. Under current legislation, this meant automatic disqualification, although Parliament later passed retrospective amendments allowing reinstatement.
Technical flaws also emerged.
A software error led to two incorrect councillors being declared elected in the Adelaide Plains Council. The error was later corrected by the Court of Disputed Returns.
Despite these setbacks, 1,288,329 electors were enrolled – up six per cent from 2018 – and 744 voters used a new telephone assisted voting service.
However, ECSA has warned that without modernising systems – including digital roll applications and stronger controls on misleading campaign material – the sector risks losing trust.
With another round of local elections due in 18 months, the sector awaits the State Government’s response to ECSA’s reform proposals and its own 2023 Local Government Participation and Elections Review.
