Polling staff should not ask if voters want referendum ballot, says head of Polish election commission

Poland’s National Electoral Commission (PKW) has reminded staff at polling stations that they should not ask whether voters want ballots for both the parliamentary election and the national referendum, which are taking place simultaneously today.

The intervention follows reports that this has been happening at some polling stations. Figures associated with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which called the referendum, have expressed concern about the practice.

NASZ NEWS! To, co robią niektóre komisje wyborcze to łamanie ciszy wyborczej!.
Więcej na https://t.co/elwAa96aXC #NiezaleznaPL https://t.co/FraQSEtFbO

— Niezalezna.PL (@niezaleznapl) October 15, 2023

Polling stations opened across Poland at 7 a.m. this morning. When voters arrive and present themselves to staff, they are by default supposed to be given three ballot papers: one with candidates for the Sejm, the lower house of parliament; one with candidates for the upper-house Senate; and one for the referendum.

However, some activists and opposition figures have called on voters to notify staff that they only wish to take the first two and do not want to vote in the referendum. Their hope is that turnout for the referendum would therefore be below the 50% needed for it to be valid.

This morning, reports appeared on social media saying that, in some polling stations, some staff members were explicitly asking voters when they registered if they wanted to receive the referendum papers or not.

W momencie podchodzenia Wyborcy do stolika po odebranie kart, na wstępie wita Ludzi. Informacją, „bez karty do referendum tak? „, bądź „karty do referendum Pan nie pobiera?”. (2/2)@PanstwKomWyb

— Kacper Płażyński (@KacperPlazynski) October 15, 2023

Niezależna, a news website supportive of PiS, said that it had received reports of such practices “all over Poland”, and mentioned examples in the cities of Rzeszów, Gdańsk, Lubaczów and Bartoszyce.

Radosław Fogiel, a senior PiS lawmaker, shared a tweet containing extracts from electoral rules indicating that polling station staff cannot ask which ballots voters want. “Share this and react in polling stations,” wrote Fogiel.

Ważne! Podajcie dalej i reagujcie w komisjach. https://t.co/IGYVHapXcQ

— Radosław Fogiel (@radekfogiel) October 15, 2023

The head of the PKW, Sylwester Marciniak, also addressed the issue at a scheduled press conference this morning, a few hours after voting had begun.

“It is inappropriate to ask whether someone wants a ballot for the referendum or for the Sejm or Senate,” he said, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

“If a voter shows up at the polling station, he or she wants to vote,” he added. “Only if they expressly refuse to accept any of the ballots will the committee include such information in its comments.”

News website Business Insider Polska also notes that under Poland’s “electoral silence” – a legally mandated period during which campaigning is banned during voting and on the day before – encouraging or discouraging participation in the referendum is not permitted.

Przewodniczący PKW: niewłaściwe jest zadawanie pytania przez komisję, czy wyborca chce kartę do referednum, do Sejmu czy do Senatu. (PAP)#PAPinformacje pic.twitter.com/xKAgh5zd4n

— PAP (@PAPinformacje) October 15, 2023

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Main image credit: Marcin Stepien / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.