A former Melbourne councillor accused of voter fraud allegedly offered to pay residents $500 to rig their ballot papers.
Milad El-Halabi was elected to the northwest ward of the Moreland City Council - now Merri-bek City Council - in October 2020.
But police allege El-Halabi, his wife Dianna, 52, and daughter Tania, 26, stole and interfered with postal ballots in the lead up to the election.
The trio on Monday appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court for a committal hearing, where Magistrate Stephen Ballek will determine whether the case should go to trial.
They all deny the charges.
Merri-bek chief executive Cathy Henderson told the court the Victorian Electoral Commission first contacted her about the alleged election fraud on November 3, 2020.
Later that day, she received a call from one of the sitting councillors, Oscar Yildiz.
He told Ms Henderson a resident in the city's northwest ward saw a "male person" in a skirt door-knocking properties and checking mailboxes for voting packs, the chief executive told the court.
When the resident confronted the man, he allegedly told her Milad had sent him.
Mr Yildiz also told Ms Henderson that Milad El-Halabi had offered residents $500 for their ballot papers.
Ms Henderson could not recall when Mr Yildiz said the incidents took place, although he had made a complaint to the commission.
"My immediate concern was for him to provide the relevant information to the Victorian Electoral Commission and police," she told the court on Monday.
"It's not my role to investigate allegations of fraud."
The commission's electoral integrity and regulation director Keegan Bartlett also gave evidence, telling the court there was an abnormal number of duplicate ballots in the 2020 election.
Mr Bartlett said he first heard of a complaint a few days after the election, when a manager raised concerns a woman tried to obtain a new ballot paper when records showed she had already voted.
The matter was escalated through to the Local Government Inspectorate, who then referred the case to Victoria Police.
The hearing will continue on Monday afternoon, with Councillor Yildiz due to give evidence.
