Zoe Daniel has requested the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) conduct a recount in the seat of Goldstein after Liberal Tim Wilson emerged 260 votes ahead after the final distribution of preferences.
The AEC automatically recounts votes if the margin is less than 100, but candidates can also request one if they believe they have sufficient grounds to do so.
In a statement, Daniel, who became the independent member for the seat in 2022, said the request had been made based upon expert advice.
“In light of the very tight margin and several errors being picked up in the portion of the count that was included in the distribution of preferences, leading to unusual fluctuations and large numbers of votes moving to and fro in the final stages of the count, I have … asked the AEC to consider whether a full recount is appropriate,” she said.
“There are also several outstanding questions regarding the broader count, which would be resolved by a recount.
“As always, I will respect the process and await the commission’s decision.”
A spokesperson for the AEC confirmed a recount request was being considered and it wasn’t appropriate to comment until a decision had been made.
They pointed to a post on X made by the AEC that confirmed the full distribution of preferences in the Victorian seat was finalised on Saturday in favour of the Liberal party.
“A recount request is being considered and an announcement regarding that decision will be made when [possible],” the post read.
Wilson reposted the AEC’s comments on X, writing “we have continually had a majority of votes for nearly three weeks, and it never fell below 100 which is the threshold for an automatic recount”.
“The votes have now been counted at least four times and Liberal and Teal volunteers have scrutineered the count,” he wrote.
“And now the former MP is asking for a full recount. At some point we should respect the professional staff at the AEC. I wish Zoe Daniel, her family and staff well in the next chapter. I hope she finds peace.”
Data scientist Simon Jackman, who has been providing advice to Daniel, described the count in Goldstein as “anything but smooth”.
He said a recount was justified due to the repeated revisions that had been made on Friday and Saturday in what had been a tight contest, particularly given the large size of the electorate.
“There’ve been some pretty big revisions to first preference counts and adjustments to two candidate preferred tallies,” he said. “Ordinarily, you’d think there’s not a lot to see here but this is the second closest race after Bradfield, and it’s been a bumpy count all the way through since election day.
“It was under 150 votes at one point, blew out as far as 400 then returned to 260 in the space of 36 hours. The AEC prides itself on taking the time to get it right; let’s do that in this case so everybody can walk away confident that the result is the actual result.”
Jackson said the margin of 100 votes to trigger an automatic recount was also “completely arbitrary” and outdated. The practice was introduced in 2007 after a historically close race in McEwen.
“The average electorate is now 140% larger than the average electorate size in 2007,” he said. “The AEC are in no way constrained by their own internal guidelines.”
There will be a full automatic recount in the Sydney seat of Bradfield after the Liberal candidate, Gisele Kapterian, led the independent, Nicolette Boele, by eight votes at the end of the final distribution of preferences.
The AEC immediately announced a recount, as is the longstanding practice in any seat when the final margin is 100 or less. The AEC said the recount would begin on Monday and might take up to two weeks.
