TrustVoting Atlas

1. The polling district electoral committee, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall inspect the ballot box of the polling station whether the seals have not been broken and whether there are no other evidences which indicate that it could have been opened or that ballot papers could have been removed in any other way. The electoral committee, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall decide if the ballot box has been tampered with. If the committee decides that the ballot box was tampered with, an act shall be drawn up about this, the ballot box shall be packed up, the package shall be put under seal and votes shall not be counted. The ballot box shall be delivered to the municipal electoral committee. The municipal electoral committee shall adopt a decision concerning counting of votes of this ballot box.
2. Having ascertained that the ballot box has not been tampered with, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the members of the polling district committee as well as election observers, it shall be opened, all ballot papers shall be placed on tables on which there must not be any other documents and writing materials (except black lead pencils), and the committee shall start counting votes. Ballot papers shall be sorted out into valid and invalid ballot papers. Valid ballot papers shall be divided into groups according to the marks made in them by voters. Each group of ballot papers must be recounted at least two times. For the second time ballot papers must be counted by other members of the committee. Ballot papers which do not hold necessary attributes (irregular ballot papers, unsealed or sealed with a seal of an electoral committee of another polling district, etc.) must, if found, be separated from the rest of the ballot papers. The municipal electoral committee shall be immediately informed about such ballot papers and such fact must be entered into the vote counting record of the polling district. Counting results must be proclaimed and entered into the record, counted ballot papers put into a special envelope (envelopes) which is sealed and safeguarded. After the electoral committee establishes how many votes have been cast by voters who voted in the polling station of the polling district for lists of candidates, counting of votes received by post shall commence.
3. Ballot papers from the marking whereof it is possible to establish which list of candidates a voter voted for, but it is impossible to establish what kind of opinion he expressed regarding the candidates from the list he voted for, may not be declared invalid only because of this reason. If a voter has not indicated the election number of a candidate in the ballot paper, indicated a non-existing election number of a candidate, as well as when it is impossible to define voter’s will from the inscription or inscriptions, preference vote or votes in the special space (spaces) of the second part of this ballot paper shall not be counted. If the election number of the same candidate is written down two or more times, only one vote shall be counted in accordance with this ballot paper.
4. A decision regarding the declaration of a ballot paper invalid or in the presence of dispute between committee members concerning the assessment of marks in the ballot paper shall be adopted by the electoral committee by way of voting. The result of such voting shall be indicated on the other side of the ballot paper.
5. Votes shall be counted in such a way that this procedure, marks of voters in the ballot papers may be observed by all the persons present during the counting of votes, and they would be able to make sure that votes are counted justly and fairly. The electoral committee must recount the votes if at least one committee member or election observer requests so before the signing of the vote counting record of the polling district.
6. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the concrete procedure for counting ballot papers and votes not later than 14 days before the elections.