„We continue the change“ demanded the removal of all the texts of the Electoral Code, which introduce mixed voting – with machines and paper ballot. For this reason, they submitted proposals for amendments between the first and second reading in the National Assembly. If accepted, they will guarantee the rights of citizens and restore their confidence in the election results, are categorical from „We continue the change“.
The political force reiterated its position that machine voting should be retained entirely in sections with more than 300 voters, with the first set of proposals calling for all texts to be rejected in favor of mixed voting.
The second set of Moving the Change proposals is for amendments to ensure that mixed voting does not take place. At the same time, it will be possible to vote with a paper ballot in specially created sections in each settlement. In order to avoid further errors, the votes from the machine and paper votes will not be merged into a common record. Paper ballot voting declarations will be completed on the spot to avoid the risk of prior manipulations.
In order to limit controlled voting, „Continuing the Change“ proposes to clarify the rules for voting in polling stations. When voting is done by paper ballot, the law stipulates that it takes place in the relevant booth. The specification that „We continue the change“ makes is that the booth must ensure the secrecy of the vote while at the same time preventing potential outside interference with the voter’s free will.
„We continue the change“ also includes proposals that do not directly affect voting by paper ballot, but are aimed at improving the electoral process and ensuring the integrity of the vote. They cover the registration of candidates for people’s representatives, the electoral lists, the number of mandates, the preferential vote, the remuneration of the members of the sectional election commissions and others.
„We continue the change“ recalled that voting with paper ballots has repeatedly reported high percentages of incorrect protocols, exceeding 90% in some places. In the parliamentary elections in March 2017, held entirely with paper ballots, 169,009 invalid ballots and over 15,000 falsified protocols were reported. In the April 2021 mixed-vote parliamentary election, there were 86,527 invalid ballots. In the November 2021 parliamentary vote, held mostly by machine voting, there were only 11,315 invalid ballots.
„We continue the change“ also notes that mixed voting increases the costs of the state for the conduct of the vote, complicates the work of the sectional and regional election commissions and creates distrust among the people in the electoral process in Bulgaria.
