The draft law contains detailed provisions regarding “control coupons” created for every ballot issued to a voter and to be retained by the PEC member in charge of ballot issuance (Article 79.3). These removable coupons include the number of the territorial district (or notification of foreign election district), number of the polling station, space to insert the ordinal number at which the voter appeared in the voters register and the signature of the voter and issuing election commission member (Article 74.9). While such a provision is designed to ensure the security of the polling procedures and dissuade fraudulent voting, its utility may be undermined by the implications such a system may have on secrecy of the ballot. Consideration should be given to whether the inclusion of this information may unintentionally allow for a ballot to be linked back to a particular voter.
