The National Electoral Commission (PKW) responded to a letter sent by the head of the District Electoral Commission in Gdańsk, in which she provided information inconsistent with the legal status. “How did she explain herself?” – “She emphasized that it resulted from the fact that the guidelines do not specify this, so she could include such a formulation, especially since there were misunderstandings on this matter in a number of polling stations,” said Sylwester Marciniak, chair of the PKW, during a press conference.
According to the portal Niezależna, the Election Monitoring Movement has developed a special application to facilitate verification of whether someone is attempting to vote multiple times using a certificate of the right to vote. Meanwhile, in Gdańsk, Election Commissioner Julia Kuciel issued instructions not to verify such certificates and to report any attempts to check them to the District Electoral Commission.
According to the head of the National Electoral Office, there is nothing illegal about recording the numbers of voting certificates by commission members or trusted representatives.
“The PKW has not directly issued a statement on this matter; there is no official version in this regard, and no one has fully asked us about it. Of course, there is no ban on commission members writing down the numbers of issued voting certificates — this is not a crime, it is not a problem, and we have nothing to hide here,” said Rafał Tkacz, head of the National Electoral Office, during a press conference today.
PKW’s reaction to the letter
During the 1:30 p.m. press conference, the PKW provided more information on the matter.
“In the letter of May 27, the chair of the District Electoral Commission [No. 35 in Gdańsk] reminded members of the precinct electoral commissions of a number of very important issues arising not only from the Electoral Code but also from PKW resolutions. It should be noted that the PKW guidelines are binding for district and precinct electoral commissions. There was an unfortunate formulation in point 5, but after our intervention, the District Commission sent a letter to the chair,” said Sylwester Marciniak, chair of the PKW.
“As a supplement to the previous message, we inform that, according to the PKW, there is no prohibition on recording only the numbers of certificates of the right to vote. This concerns point 5, paragraphs two and three of the letter of May 27,” read a portion of the letter from the District Electoral Commission.
“The guidelines do not specify”
How did the chair of the Gdańsk District Commission explain her letter?
“She emphasized that it resulted from the fact that the guidelines do not specify this, so she could include such a formulation, especially since there were misunderstandings on this matter in a number of polling stations,” said Marciniak.
“The most important thing is that whether it is a trusted representative or a commission member, if they have doubts about the authenticity of the certificate — but these doubts do not concern the hologram or number — the voter should still receive a ballot. Such remarks, however, should be included in the voting results protocol, and this may serve as a basis for further action,” he added.