Opening of ballot boxes 1. The PEC chairperson shall check the seal integrity on a ballot box in the presence of PEC members and persons authorised to be present at a polling place. 2. If the seal integrity is lost but a PEC considers that this has not led to violation of the requirements of this Law, the procedure of summarising results shall be resumed under a PEC decree. Otherwise, a ballot box shall be sealed and the PEC decree and the sealed ballot box shall immediately be submitted to the higher DEC. 3. Counting officers shall move ballot boxes to a desk standing separately and take their places on opposite sides so as to maintain two meters distance between PEC members and persons authorised to be present at the polling station. Two supervisors and two representatives selected from among the observers shall stand next to counting officers. 4. A PEC shall first open mobile ballot boxes. Counting officers shall take special envelopes from the mobile ballot box and place them on the desk, check whether there is a control sheet in the mobile ballot box and compare it with the control sheet kept with the PEC for comparison. If any difference between the two control sheets is identified or if the control sheet is missing in the mobile ballot box, all special envelopes and ballot papers shall be bundled in one package and labeled ’invalid‘ and then submitted to the higher DEC after the polling and vote counting procedures are completed at the electoral precinct. After this procedure, counting officers shall open the main ballot box. 5. Counting officers shall take special envelopes and ballot papers from the main ballot box and place them on a separate desk, check whether there is a control sheet in the main ballot box and compare it with the control sheet kept by the PEC chairperson for comparison. If any difference between the two control sheets is identified or the control sheet is missing in the main ballot box, all special envelopes and ballot papers shall be bundled in one package and sealed. A respective protocol shall be drawn up and immediately submitted to the higher DEC. If violations do not occur, counting officers shall mix special envelopes from the main and mobile ballot boxes and start counting ballot papers. http://www.matsne.gov.ge 01019002004001016032 Article 69 - Counting of votes 1. A PEC shall count ballot papers in compliance with the following procedure: a) the first counting officer shall take a ballot paper out of a special envelope, announce for whom the vote has been cast and transfer one type of ballot paper to the second counting officer, another type of ballot paper to the third counting officer, etc., while he/she shall place special envelopes separately. Counting officers shall sort ballot papers separately by the votes given to each electoral subject; b) unidentified type of ballot papers and ballot papers deemed by counting officers invalid shall be placed separately from ballot papers raising doubt about their validity. 2. One of supervisors selected from among observers shall stand next to the second counting officer as referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this article, and another supervisor shall stand next to the third counting officer as referred to in the same subparagraph. Supervisors shall have the right to observe the entire procedure of counting votes, make remarks on errors, require rectification of errors, and unless the requirement is met, appeal the PEC action to the higher DEC, and thereafter in court. Persons authorised to be present at a polling station may require the counting officer to put aside any ballot paper raising doubt about its validity. 3. A standard ballot paper shall be deemed invalid only in the following cases: a) the ballot paper is not endorsed by the signature and special seal of a registrar of voters; b) it is impossible to determine for which electoral subject a voter cast a vote; c) the number of ballot papers in a special envelope exceeds the number required; d) the special envelope does not comply with the sample; e) the ballot paper in a ballot box is without a special envelope; f) the ballot paper was intended for another electoral precinct. 4. Any corrections, changes, or amendments to a ballot paper after a voter casts a vote shall give rise to liability under the legislation of Georgia. 5. Ballot papers raising doubt about their validity shall be verified after all ballot papers are sorted into different categories. A PEC shall decide by voting whether each ballot paper is valid. Ballot papers that are deemed valid shall be added to the pile of valid ballot papers, while ballot papers that are deemed invalid shall be added to the pile of invalid ballot papers. 6. After the procedure referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article, the ballot papers that have been determined to be invalid shall be counted and labeled ’invalid’. Such ballot papers shall be bundled in a package and signed by counting officers and the PEC chairperson, and the PEC secretary shall immediately enter the quantity thereof in the demonstration protocol and the log-book. Valid ballot papers intended for another electoral precinct shall be packed in a separate bundle and the quantity thereof shall be entered only in the log-book. 7. Each package of ballot papers shall be packed and sealed in an envelope of appropriate size. The number of the electoral precinct and the type and quantity of ballot papers contained therein shall be specified on each package. 8. After the procedure referred to in the seventh paragraph of this article, the number of votes cast for each electoral subject shall be counted and ballot papers shall be packed according to the procedure referred to in the ninth paragraph of this article. The bundle of ballot papers belonging to each electoral subject shall separately be wrapped and sealed. The number of votes obtained by each electoral subject shall immediately be recorded by the PEC secretary in the demonstration protocol and the log-book. 9. Every 10 ballot papers shall be bound with metal clips and each package, either complete or incomplete, shall specify on the top of the package the quantity of ballot papers in the package. The packages shall be bound in a single bundle. The bundles shall specify on the top of the bundle the name and the number of an electoral precinct, the information about an electoral subject(s) (name, first and last names), the number of votes received by an electoral subject(s), and the number of ballot papers in the bundle.
§ Article 68Opening of ballot boxes
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