October 4th and parliamentary elections at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina are getting closer. We checked how informed citizens who want to express their electoral will are about the voting method after the introduction of scanners and new technologies.
What will the ballot paper look like, what color accompanies the institution being voted for, what is the design of the ballot paper and how many numbers does it contain? What does the instruction with the ballot contain?
Education for our subscribers, on the eve of another holiday of democracy.
The first step is identification
Upon arrival at the polling station, the voter first identifies himself. After the electronic reading of the document, it is necessary to perform biometric identification of the voter by placing the index finger of the right hand on the sensor of the device. After the identification is completed, the device prints a certificate that the voter signs, and that slip goes into a special box that is deposited by a member of the electoral committee.
The voter then receives a folder with ballots and a candidate list and goes to the polling booth. After voting, the ballots are placed in the ballot box, which this time comes with a scanner through which the ballots are inserted into the box itself.
There is a fear that procedural changes to voting will confuse the elderly population in particular.
We asked citizens how informed they were about the changes:
“I tried it last week. It’s a bit complicated, it’s going to be complicated and it’s going to be slow.”
“I’m knowledgeable, but I don’t know that much. I know through the means of information that it will be difficult, especially for our population, which is, well, at least 20 percent illiterate.”
“Partially. I’m not very interested in anything, but I’ll definitely try a little harder in the near future.”
“Weak, me first weak.”
“I don’t have any information.”
Colors and appearance of the papers
In addition to the procedural changes, another very important change is the appearance of the ballots. On the left side of the ballot are the names of the parties, while on the right are the serial numbers of the candidates, without names. The voter receives an accompanying brochure with the names of all the candidates. When voting, it is possible to fill in the circle for a maximum of three candidates, where it is necessary to vote for the party from which the candidates come.
“For the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there was a gray paper. It is still gray. It is stated which level is being voted for. The same is true for the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is stated which level is being voted for, it is blue and everything is clearly indicated,” explained Hasan Kamenjaković, spokesman for the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition.
Education was delayed
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina should inform the voters about these very important details. However, just as we had a delay during the election simulation, so was the education of both the voters and the election administration. The CEC states that there is time for education.
Special focus will be placed on the first step of voting – voter identification, where major election frauds have been recorded in previous years.
“It is important for the identification itself how the device is mounted, how it is put into operation. In every device there is a so-called two-factor check, both through a card and through a specific PIN, code, until the very use of identification documents,” said Suad Arnautović, a member of the CEC.
The Coalition “Under Scrutiny” states that, in addition to the delay in education, the CEC mainly conducted theoretical training, which is why the members of the polling committees will have to undergo another, practical training.
There will also be a manual count
“We entered this process late. We must say that it was influenced by a number of factors, first of all the fact that we should have started with the implementation of new election technologies immediately after the local elections. However, we had obstructions in securing financial resources, obstructions in public tenders,” stressed Kamenjaković.
It is not surprising that citizens are confused about the new way of voting, considering the months-long campaign against electoral technologies led by certain political parties.
However, although the scanners will count the votes, there will also be manual counting. In case the results do not match, the results obtained by manual counting are taken into account, Federalna writes.
