The Liberal party has accused Climate 200 and the independent Manly candidate Joeline Hackman of misleading voters over election corflutes that tell voters they risked “wasting” their vote if they did not number every box.
The party launched an 11th-hour challenge in the NSW Electoral Commission against the signs that appeared this week in the northern Sydney seat of Manly, held by the environment minister, James Griffin.
The complaint was lodged on Friday as the premier, Dominic Perrottet, and the opposition leader, Chris Minns, made their final pitches to voters before the election on Saturday.
The blue, teal and white Climate 200 corflute says: “Don’t risk a wasted vote. Number every box on the short ballot paper.”
Hackman’s similarly coloured sign asks voters if they “want better” and then repeats the same message.
The NSW Liberal party argued the reference to a “wasted vote” on the corflutes could mislead voters into thinking that just numbering one box, as is legal under the state’s optional preferential voting system, could be counted as an informal vote.
The Liberals have been campaigning across Manly and other northern Sydney seats being targeted by teal candidates with signs that remind voters they can “just vote one” on election day.
The party has also argued the Manly signs were not clearly enough marked as being authorised by Climate 200 and Hackman, and could confuse voters into thinking they were from the commission.
But Hackman dismissed the claims as the “height of hypocrisy” and said she would mount a swift legal challenge if the commission ruled against them.
“The Liberals’ signs are intentionally designed to deceive voters by looking like official communications from the NSW Electoral Commission,” she said.
“There is no such confusion with our signs that are clearly in campaign colours and encourage voters to number every box on the small ballot paper to ensure they don’t risk wasting their vote.”
The Liberals said their own signs had been approved by the NSW Electoral Commission.
Hackman argued the state’s optional preferential voting system was “inherently undemocratic” – echoing the sentiment of fellow independent Jacqui Scruby, who this week vowed to make preferential voting compulsory if elected.
“It means candidates are routinely elected who don’t have the support of a majority of voters in that electorate,” Hackman said.
“We need to join the rest of the country and reinstitute mandatory preferential voting. If the NSWEC rules against our signs, we will consider prompt legal action to overturn that decision through the courts.”
