#Europeanelections2019/BEC spokesman: Control stamp on ballot paper's first page or elsewhere, no reason to invalidate ballot

The polling station's control stamp having been applied anywhere else than on the last page of the ballot paper is no reason to invalidate the ballot, Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) spokesman Marian Muhulet said on Sunday. 

He specified that the ballot papers stamped on the first page or elsewhere are not void and will therefore not be invalidated at the vote count that starts after 21:00 hrs. 

"Having affixed the control stamp on the ballot papers, especially those for the referendum, on the first page (...) is no reason for invalidation. BEC has answered in this respect to several requests, referring to Article 49 (f) of Law No. 33/2007 that very clearly lists the reasons for voiding ballot papers," Muhulet said in a press statement at the BEC seat. 

He added that spoilt ballot papers are those on which the polling station's control stamp has not been placed, ballot papers of a different model than the legally approved one, those on which the 'Voted' stamp has not been applied or where the stamp has been affixed to more than one checkbox. The vote is valid if, although the applied stamp exceeds the limits of the checkbox, the voter's choice is obvious, Muhulet mentioned. Void ballots do not count to valid votes. 

Representatives of the Iasi County Electoral Bureau received on Sunday a notification that the president of Iasi city polling station No. 53 had applied the control stamp on the first, instead of the last page of the referendum ballot paper, as instructions required. 

A member of the Iasi branch of the Save Romania Union posted on his Facebook page a picture with the ballot paper having the control stamp on the first page, not on the last one, claiming that the votes could be canceled for this reason, which is why he also notified the Iasi County Electoral Bureau.