Procedure for Printing Ballot Papers and their Transfer to Election Commissions
1) the Election Commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, or an oblast or city (city with rayon division) election commission – no later than ten days before the day of voting and receives the produced ballots no later than nine days before the day of voting in the packaging of the manufacturer on the basis of an act of acceptance-transfer according to the form established by the Central Election Commission;
2) a rayon or city (cities without rayon division) or rayon in city (in cities where district councils are formed in the city) election commission – no later than seven days before the voting day and receives the produced ballot papers no later than six days by the day of voting in the packaging of the manufacturer on the basis of an act of acceptance-transfer in the form established by the Central Election Commission;
3) a village or settlement election commission – no later than five days before the day of voting and receives the produced ballot papers no later than four days before the day of voting in the packaging of the manufacturer on the basis of an acceptance certificate according to the form established by the Central Election Commission.
The chair of the election commission or another person authorized by a decision of this commission receives the ballots from the manufacturer, in the manner and terms specified in this article on behalf of a territorial election commission, which establishes the results of local elections.
The contract between the respective territorial election commission and the printing company is concluded using a negotiated procurement procedure based on the production, technological and organizational capabilities of the company to ensure timely printing and protection of ballots.
Ballot manufacturers shall ensure strict compliance with the ordered number of ballots produced, their registration, and transfer to the customer in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission.
Summary information on the basis of acceptance-transfer acts on the number of ballots produced for each territorial election district shall be published by the territorial election commission, which shall establish the election results of elections of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, an oblast, rayon, rayon in city, as well as city, village or settlement council (of a territorial community with more than 10,000 voters), no later than one day before the day of voting on its official website (if available), websites of the respective local councils (if available) or in another way determined by these commissions and/or on the stand of official materials of the commission.
Control over the production of ballot papers by the printing enterprises and over the observance of the requirements regarding the destruction of the typographic plates, technical wastes, defective printed matter, and erroneously produced ballot papers shall be exercised by a supervisory commission created by the respective territorial election commission based on submissions from the local organizations of political parties whose parliamentary factions are registered with the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the current convocation, as of the start of the election process, but no later than on the day of approval of the ballot paper text and establishing the security features of the ballot paper.
1) the Election Commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the oblast election commission shall transfer ballot papers from the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the oblast council to the respective village, settlement or city election commissions – no later than six days before election day;
2) the rayon election commission shall transfer the ballot papers for the elections of the rayon council to the respective village, settlement or city election commissions – no later than four days before the day of voting;
3) the city (in cities with rayon division) election commission shall transfer ballot papers on elections of members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the oblast, rayon or city council in territorial or multi-member districts, and on elections of the mayor to the respective rayon in city election commissions – no later than four days before election day.
If the transfer is made at a meeting of the territorial election commission, ballots in the packaging of the manufacturer on behalf of the territorial election commission to which the ballots are transferred, are received by at least three members of the commission authorized by its decision, who must be representatives of different candidate nominating subjects, to the respective territorial election commission.
1) a city (cities without rayon division) or rayon in city election commission transfers the ballot papers for the respective elections of mayor, members of city council, members of a rayon in city council (in cities where rayon in city councils are formed), members of a rayon council, members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or members of an oblast council in the respective election district (except for the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol);
2) a village or settlement election commission transfers the ballot papers for the respective elections of village or settlement mayor, members of the village or settlement council, members of the rayon council, members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the respective oblast [council] of the respective district.
Ballot papers in the packaging of the manufacturer shall be received, on behalf of the respective precinct election commission, by at least three members of this commission, authorized by its decision, who must be representatives of different candidate nominating subjects to the respective precinct election commission.
1) the name of the local election;
2) indication and/or the number of the election district;
3) the number of transferred ballot papers;
4) last names and signatures of the members of the territorial election commission who received the ballot papers.
The first copy of the act shall be kept in the custody of the territorial election commission that delivered the ballot papers; the second copy shall be delivered to the respective territorial election commission that received the ballot papers, and the third copy shall be immediately posted in the premises of the territorial election commission that delivered the ballot papers for public review.
The territorial election commission, which hands over the ballot papers for voting in the respective local election to the precinct election commissions, shall draw a protocol in three copies in a form established by the Central Election Commission, with an indication of
1) the name of the local election;
2) indication and/or the number of the election district;
3) the number of the election precinct;
4) the number of transferred ballot papers;
5) last names and signatures of the precinct election commission members who received the ballot papers.
The first copy of the act shall be kept in the custody of the territorial election commission that delivered the ballot papers; the second copy shall be delivered to the respective higher-level territorial election commission, and the third copy shall be immediately posted in the premises of the territorial election commission for public review.
An excerpt from the protocol prepared in accordance with the form approved by the Central Election Commission, signed by the chair and secretary of the territorial election commission and three members of the respective precinct election commission and affixed with the territorial election commission’s seal, specifying the data related to the respective election precinct, shall be handed over together with the ballot papers to the representatives of each precinct election commission who received ballot papers.
Should it be impossible to transfer ballot papers to the respective territorial election commission, the respective ballot papers shall be considered unused and shall be invalidated by the respective territorial election commission by way of handing them over for destruction to the manufacturer. The ballot papers shall be destroyed by the manufacturer in the presence of representatives of the respective territorial election commission and the control commission established by such election commission, and a corresponding act shall be drawn up thereof.
Should it be impossible to transfer ballot papers from the territorial election commission to the precinct election commission, the respective ballot papers shall be considered unused, and a corresponding act shall be drawn up thereof in two copies (if the territorial election commission hands over ballot papers for an election which it does not organize to a precinct election commission and in other cases – in one copy), in a form established by the Central Election Commission. One copy of the act shall be sent to the respective election commission; the second copy shall be kept in the custody of the territorial election commission. Such ballot papers shall be invalidated by the respective territorial election commission after the end of voting by cutting off the bottom right corner of the ballot papers. The invalidated unused ballot papers shall be packed, and the inscription “Unused ballot papers invalidated by the territorial election commission” shall be made on the package, with an indication of the number of the multi-member election district, as well as the number (numbers) of the election precinct, number of packaged ballots and the date and time of packaging; the package shall be signed by the members of the territorial election commission present and affixed with the commission’s seal.
The secretary of the precinct election commission, or, if he or she is unavailable, another member of the election commission appointed by a decision of the commission, shall open the packaging of the printing enterprise and affix the precinct election commission’s seal on the designated places of each ballot paper. Another member of the precinct election commission, appointed by a decision of the commission, shall, if necessary, put the number of the electoral precinct on the designated places of each ballot paper, whereas another member of the precinct election commission, appointed by a decision of the precinct election commission shall count the ballot papers for voting separately for each local election and for each election district and check the accuracy of the numbers (indications) of the election district, to which the election district, which received the ballot papers, belongs. During the counting of the ballot papers, a member of the election commission, appointed by a decision of the commission, shall count the ballot papers aloud, while other election commission members shall observe the counting. It shall be prohibited to divide the commission into groups to count separate parts of all ballot papers.
11. If a discrepancy is found between the number of ballot papers counted and the number of ballot papers indicated in the excerpt from the protocol of the territorial election commission on the handover of the ballot papers, the precinct election commission shall produce an act, in two copies, in a form established by the Central Election Commission, on such discrepancies, which shall indicate the reason for the discrepancy as established by a decision of the precinct election commission. One copy of the act shall be submitted to the territorial election commission; the second copy shall be stored at the precinct election commission. If such discrepancies are detected, the number of the ballot papers received by the precinct election commission shall be deemed to be the number of the ballot papers established at the meeting of the precinct election commission and entered in the act on discrepancies.
12. A territorial or precinct election commission shall ensure the storage and safekeeping of received ballot papers. Ballot papers shall be kept in the office of the election commission in a safe (a metal case or a separate room), which shall be sealed with tape bearing the signatures of all members of the commission present at the meeting and having the commission seal affixed thereto. The safe (a metal case or a separate room) shall be continuously (until the transfer of the ballot papers to precinct election commissions, or until the day of voting) guarded by a representative of the police, or by representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine, if necessary, upon request of the territorial election commission.
If damage to the tape sealing of the safe (metal case) or a discrepancy between the signatures or the seal on the tape and the authentic signatures or the seal is detected, the chair of the election commission shall immediately notify bodies of the National Police of Ukraine and the higher-level election commission. The chair of the commission shall then immediately open the safe (metal case or a separate room) and remove all ballot papers. The members of the precinct election commission shall check the ballot papers to determine whether the number of the election precinct indicated on them is correct and whether the precinct election commission’s seal is affixed thereto; and, after that, they shall recount the ballot papers, separately for each type of election. The precinct election commission shall produce an act on detected signs of opening of the safe (metal case) and on any discrepancy in the numbers of ballot papers (if detected). The number of ballot papers in the safe (metal case) shall also be entered in the minutes of the precinct election commission’s meeting. In such case, the established number of ballot papers shall be deemed the number of ballot papers received by the precinct election commission
13. In case of cancellation of registration of a candidate in a multi-member election district, a candidate for the position of village, settlement or city mayor or the withdrawal of such a candidate from voting, or the cancellation of registration of all candidates from a party organization in a unified multi-member district in the period during or after election ballots were printed, but during which it is impossible to reprint the ballots after the ballots have been produced, the respective territorial election commission shall make a decision on making changes to the ballot. A copy of such a decision shall be immediately transmitted by the territorial election commission to the Central Election Commission.
The decision of the election commission shall be immediately transferred to the respective territorial election commissions for transfer to the precinct election commissions or directly to the precinct election commissions for making the appropriate changes to the ballot papers by the precinct election commissions.
Changes made to a ballot paper shall be notified to each voter during the issuance of the ballot paper.
Such changes pursuant to a decision of a territorial election commission shall be made to ballot papers by the members of the precinct election commissions using the stamp "Withdrawn" at a meeting of the precinct election commission. It is prohibited to make changes to the ballot paper without a decision of an election commission.
The form, procedure for production, storage and transmission to election commissions of the "Withdrawn" stamp shall be approved by the Central Election Commission no later than twenty-six days prior to the day of ordinary local elections. The respective election commission shall no later than seven days before election day ensure the production of such stamps or use stamps that have been made earlier.
Precinct election commissions shall immediately notify the territorial election commission, which made the decision to make changes to the ballot paper, of the fact that the stamp "Withdrawn" have been affixed to the ballot papers, which certifies that amendments have been made to the ballot paper.
A member of the precinct election commission shall inform each voter about the changes made to the ballot paper during the issuance of the ballot paper.
The "Withdrawn" stamp is transferred to the precinct election commissions simultaneously with the decision of the territorial election commission on cancelation of the registration of all candidates from a party organization in a unified multi-member election district, cancelation of the registration of a candidate in a multi-member election district, a candidate for village, settlement or city mayor, withdrawal of such a candidate from voting and on making changes to the ballot paper in this connection.
The use of the "Withdrawn" stamp by the precinct election commission without having obtained the respective decision of the territorial election commission is prohibited.
14. If ballot papers are amended without a decision of the territorial election commission or changes are entered that do not comply with the decision of the territorial election commission, the precinct election commission at its meeting shall draw up an act in two copies in the form and manner prescribed by part six of Article 37 of this Code. The act shall indicate the number of ballots received, the number of spoiled ballots for voting in the respective election district, and the names of the persons who caused it. One copy of this act shall be immediately submitted to the territorial election commission; the second copy shall be kept by the precinct election commission. The information of the said act shall be taken into account by the precinct election commission when drawing up the protocol on the counting of votes at the election precinct.
The spoiled ballots for voting in various local elections shall be cancelled and packed separately in different packages in accordance with the procedure provided for in part six of Aticle 250 of this Code. The packages shall be marked: "Spoiled ballots," indicating the type and number of spoiled ballots for voting. Packed spoiled ballots shall be stored in the precinct election commission until the day of voting and shall be submitted to the territorial election commission together with other election documentation in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 253 of this Code. When counting the votes, the spoiled ballots are counted as unused.
If the number of spoiled ballots calls into question the possibility of conducting voting at the election precinct, the respective territorial election commission shall decide on the possibility of reprinting the respective ballots and delivering them to the election precinct to ensure the conduct of voting. In this case, the provisions of this Code regarding the deadlines for the transfer of ballot papers shall not apply.
15. Persons guilty of unlawful spoilage of ballot papers shall reimburse the damage caused in accordance with the procedure established by law.
