(1) Machine voting shall take place by using electronic communication means and data processing.

(2) The system referred shall be designed, implemented and maintained in a way that shall:

1. ensure easy and intelligible access to the mechanisms and methods of machine voting, including simplified access for voters with visual or motor impairments;


2. offer to voters instructions about the required actions in case of machine voting;


3. ensure information of equal volume and quality concerning each political party, coalition, nomination committee or candidate;


4. guarantee the secrecy of the vote and free expression of the will of the voters;


5. not allow manipulation of the votes or any other undue influence on the election process;


6. ensure a possibility for easy management of the user software and in particular of the ballot;


7. conform to the highest standard for quality and stability of the hardware and software used;


8. not require from the voter any special skills other than those necessary to use computer terminals;


9. guarantee that each voter will cast only one vote for each type of elections and that each vote shall be stored and counted only once;


10. ensure maximum reliability against external disturbance and unauthorized access, also against hacker attacks;


11. in case of suspension of the election process due to the occurrence of compelling external circumstances, preserve the data regarding the voting and allow its continuation after the elimination of these circumstances;


12. allow aggregation of the results and their electronic transfer to the constituency or municipal election commissions and to the Central Election Commission after the completion of the voting;


13. ensure the integrity and secrecy of the information transferred by means of data encryption and protection of communication links;


14. keep an electronic diary of the election process indicating all peculiarities and deviations from the statutory provisions;


15. guarantee easy maintenance of the hardware and quick elimination of any technical malfunctions;


16. allow observation of the election process by independent authorized bodies;


17. allow audit and inspection on the part of authorized bodies.

(3) (Amend. – SG, 88/20) The Central Election Commission shall set the technical requirements to the hardware and software parts of the technical devices for machine voting.