‘This Is Nuts’: Frantic Emails Expose South Australian Election Day Chaos

“Can it get any worse ?????” one staff member wrote. Another said they had started the day crying at 4am, while a third reported that four booths remained unstaffed. A fourth message said the sender was “literally begging” for a response.

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Can it get any worse ?????

The messages, sent by South Australian Electoral Commission staff in the days before the March 21 state election, were obtained by the ABC through freedom-of-information laws. They show senior officials still searching for polling-booth managers only hours before voting began.

The staffing crisis formed part of a wider troubled picture surrounding the 2026 election. Technical glitches, long queues, missing ballots and payment delays were reported, while Aboriginal voters were mistakenly turned away. The commission’s handling of the election is now subject to an independent review due to report before the end of the year.

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I started today crying at 4am, this is nuts.

The pressure appeared especially severe in one electorate in Adelaide’s western suburbs. The returning officer said that fewer than half of the polling-booth manager positions had been filled by 9pm on the Thursday before the election. Deputies had been asked to step up, one manager had withdrawn, and the officer warned that a booth could be shut down because venues had not been contacted.

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distressing reading

By about 5pm the following day, with less than 24 hours before voting, another worker had pulled out. The officer said one western suburbs booth had no manager or deputy and had not been set up. Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers, who leads the review, called the documents “distressing reading.” Acting SA Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay said she was “extremely concerned” by reports of worker distress.

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extremely concerned