The National Election Committee, acting within its competence laid down in Section 90/A (4) a) of Act C of 1997 (hereinafter: Ve.), issues the following

resolution

on voting with a certificate.

Act C of 1997 on the electoral procedure (hereinafter: Ve.) contains the following provisions in Section 66:

"66. § (1) A voter who is on the electoral register, or who is registered on the electoral register by the ballot-counting committee, may vote in the polling station.
(2) Based on a document suitable for proving identity and place of residence, the ballot-counting committee shall establish the identity of the person wishing to vote and whether they are on the electoral register. The ballot-counting committee shall register the voter who

a) has a certificate,
b) proves that their place of residence is within the polling district, provided that they are not on the register of adult citizens without the right to vote."

Ve. Section 89 regulates issues related to the certificate:
"89. § (1) A voter who, on election day, is away from their place of residence but within the territory of Hungary, may apply for registration in the electoral register with a certificate requested from the head of the local election office with jurisdiction over their place of residence, from the head of the local election office of the settlement where they are on election day - or on election day from the ballot-counting committee. Based on the certificate, the voter can vote in the Hungarian settlement where they are located.

(2) When issuing the certificate, the head of the local election office with jurisdiction over the place of residence shall simultaneously remove the voter from the electoral register. In the certificate - based on the voter's statement - the settlement where the voter wishes to vote must be indicated, and this must be noted on the electoral register. The voter, or a person authorized by them for this purpose, acknowledges receipt of the certificate with their signature.

(3) Based on the certificate and the document suitable for proving identity and place of residence, the head of the local election office with jurisdiction over the place of stay or the ballot-counting committee shall register the voter in a separate register. The certificate and the separate register must be kept with the election documents.

(4) A certificate can be issued at the latest on the second day before the first round. A certificate can be requested in person or through an authorized person. The certificate can also be requested by registered mail, provided that it arrives at the competent local election office at the latest on the 5th day before the first round. The letter must specify the settlement where the voter wishes to vote. The certificate requested by letter must be sent to the voter at the address they indicated with an acknowledgment of receipt.

(5) To issue the certificate, the applicant must provide their name, personal identifier, place of residence, the name of the settlement where they will be on election day, and must state whether they are requesting the certificate for the first, second, or both rounds."

According to point 30 of Annex 1 of Government Decree 60/2005. (XII. 21.) on the implementation of Act C of 1997 on the electoral procedure in the election of Members of Parliament, "The voter who has a certificate for voting away from their place of residence must be registered on the electoral register after the simultaneous presentation of the certificate and the valid documents according to point 35 (the certificate must be taken away at the same time and the voter must also be registered on the F register). The same procedure must be followed if the voter wishes to vote in the polling district from whose electoral register they were removed due to the issuance of the certificate."

Based on Section 66, the ballot-counting committee is obliged to register a voter who meets the legal requirements on the electoral register without discretion. If the registration on the electoral register is based on a certificate, or if the ballot-counting committee registers a voter who was previously removed from the electoral register of the polling district by the head of the local election office due to the issuance of a certificate, the certificate must be withdrawn from the voter.

Based on Section 89, a certificate can be issued for both a settlement other than the voter's place of residence and for the voter's place of residence. This latter procedure makes it possible, for example, for voters in a hospital or correctional facility to exercise their right to vote even if the institution is not located in the area of the polling district where the voter's place of residence is.

Budapest, 6 April 2006.

Dr. Péter Szigeti
President of the National Election Committee