#EuropeanElections2019 Iasi: Polling station control stamp - misplaced on first page of several paperballots for referendum

Representatives of the Iasi County Electoral Bureau (BEJ) on Sunday received a notification according to which polling station no. 53 in the Iasi Municipality the head of the polling station applied the control stamp on the first instead of the last page of the ballot paper for the referendum, as instructions say. 

Iasi BEJ spokeswoman, Marta Dunca, stated that, although the ballot boxes have ballot papers inside with the misplaced stamp, these ballot papers were still going to be taken into consideration and not be canceled. The same source said canceled were only the ballot papers that were wrongly stamped but not yet used by voters. 

"A team of two members of the Iasi County Electoral Bureau went to verify the situation and explained to the head of the polling station that the stamp was supposed to be placed on the last page of the ballot and not the first page. The misunderstanding was caused by the fact that the ballot papers for the referendum came as one page, unfolded, so that the members of the polling station bureau needed to fold them and arrange the pages in order - 1, 2, 3. This is what happened. The head of the polling station thought that the overleaf was to be considered the last page. After receiving instructions, however, from the Iasi BEJ representatives, he understood how to apply the stamp correctly. The already stamped but unused ballot papers were canceled. The ballot papers already used by the voters and placed inside the ballot boxes will still be taken into consideration, as misplaced control stamps don't appear among the situations that may lead to the cancellation of a ballot. But the votes already placed in the ballot box are valid," Marta Dunca told AGERPRES. 

One of the members of USR (Save Romania Union) Iasi posted on his Facebook page an image of a ballot with a misplaced stamp. He wanted to draw attention on the fact that such votes can be canceled, for which reason he notified the Iasi BEJ.