Last weekend, the Herald reported what seemed like a serious case of attempted electoral fraud in Auckland, with 90 people registered as living at two suburban addresses in Papatoetoe. Now the Electoral Commission has confirmed it was even wider, and has removed 306 people from the electoral roll as a result. That's about 3% of the total vote last election in that ward, and about 10% of the winning candidates' votes - more than enough to swing a tight race.
The police are still investigating. I hope they get to the bottom of this, and punish whoever is responsible. While they may not think so, electoral fraud is a serious crime. It is not something we can tolerate in our democracy.
