6/2014. NVB Directive
on the submission of the ballot paper and the identification declaration for postal voting
at the foreign representation [1]

The National Election Committee, acting within its competence laid down in Section 51 (1) of Act XXXVI of 2013 on the electoral procedure (hereinafter: Ve.), issues the following

directive

The provisions of the Ve. on postal voting do not explicitly regulate where a voter on the register of postal voters who requested to collect the voting package in person is entitled to fill out the ballot paper and the identification declaration, but it would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the election and the electoral procedure if they could do so at the place of personal collection.

The interpretation of the phrase "may collect" in Ve. Section 277 (2) and the phrase "may deliver" which is present in Sections 279 (2) a), b) and c) implies that the voter must leave the building that serves as the place of collection, and must deliver or submit the return envelope - which contains the ballot paper and the identification declaration filled out elsewhere - in accordance with Section 281 (1).

The directive is aimed at interpreting the following legal provisions related to the election:

Ve.:

"Section 2 (1) The following fundamental principles must be applied during the application of the rules of the electoral procedure:

a) the protection of the integrity of the election,

b) voluntary participation in the electoral procedure,

c) equal opportunity for candidates and nominating organizations,

d) the promotion of the exercise of rights by voters with disabilities,

e) good faith and proper exercise of rights,

f) the publicity of the electoral procedure."

"Section 5 (4) A foreign representation observer registered by the National Election Committee may be present at the work of the foreign representation election office. The foreign representation observer

a) may monitor the work of the foreign representation election office,..."

"Section 277 (2) A voter without a Hungarian address who, according to Section 92 (1) bb), requested to collect the voting package in person up to the fifteenth day before the vote, may collect the voting package from the fifteenth day before the vote, but no later than the second day before the vote - on every working day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. - at the election office at the foreign representation designated by the minister by decree."

"Section 278 (1) After filling out the ballot paper received in the voting package, the voter places the filled-out ballot paper in the inner envelope and seals it.

(2) The following must be entered on the identification declaration:

a) the voter's name,

b) their birth name,

c) their place and date of birth,

d) their mother's name, and

e) their personal identification number or the type and number of their document proving their Hungarian citizenship.

(2a) The voter who recommends must sign the identification declaration with their own hand.

(3) The voter encloses the sealed inner envelope and the filled-out identification declaration in the return envelope."

"Section 279 (2) A voter without a Hungarian address who is on the register of postal voters may deliver the return envelope containing their vote

a) to the National Election Office so that it arrives no later than midnight on the day before the vote,

b) to any foreign representation election office on every working day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. within fifteen days before the vote in Hungary, and during the period of voting at the foreign representation, or

c) to any individual constituency election office during the period available for voting in Hungary."

"Section 281 (1) The foreign representation election office at the foreign representation and the individual constituency election office in the seat of the individual constituency provide the possibility to submit the return envelope containing the vote.

(2) The return envelope can be placed in an urn that is under the continuous supervision of the office. At the foreign representation, the urn must be stored in a secure place."

Annex 1 of Decree 17/2013. (VII. 17.) KIM on the maintenance of the central register and other electoral registers (Njr.):

"2. According to Ve. Section 277 (2) c), a voter without a Hungarian address may collect the voting package at the following foreign representations:

a. Hungarian Embassy, Belgrade

b. Hungarian Consulate, Beregszász

c. Hungarian Embassy, Bucharest

d. Hungarian Consulate General, Miercurea Ciuc

e. Hungarian Consulate General, Košice

f. Hungarian Consulate General, Cluj-Napoca

g. Hungarian Embassy, Bratislava

h. Hungarian Consulate General, Subotica

i. Hungarian Consulate General, Uzhhorod

j. Hungarian Consulate General, Osijek"

Decree 28/2013. (XI. 15.) KIM on the detailed rules for the implementation of the tasks falling within the competence of the election offices in the election of parliamentary representatives and members of the European Parliament, on the forms to be used in the electoral procedure, and on the determination of the scope of the nationwide aggregated data of the election results:

"Section 16 (1) The KÜVI (foreign representation election office) operating at the foreign representation specified in Annex 1, point 2 of the Njr. hands over the voting package to the voter after verifying their identity and the confirmation of collection.

(2) The KÜVI

a) performs the information tasks related to postal voting,

b) provides a separate urn for the submission of the return envelopes of postal voters in the building of the foreign representation from the 15th day before the vote on every working day, and during the period of voting at the foreign representation, which

it supervises continuously during the time available for the submission of the return envelope,

c) on every working day, and on the day of voting at the foreign representation, after the end of the opening hours available for the submission of the return envelope, it opens the urn, counts the submitted return envelopes, and packs them in such a way that the contents of the package cannot be altered without violating the packaging,

d) reports the number of submitted return envelopes to the NVI on a daily basis,

e) ensures the safe storage of the packages containing the return envelopes until their transfer to the NVI,

f) arranges for the transportation of the packages containing the return envelopes to the NVI."

The Ve. allows a voter without a Hungarian address to collect the voting package at the foreign representation specified in Annex 1, point 2 of the Njr., and to submit the return envelope containing their vote at the foreign representation.

During postal voting - due to its nature - the state is not able to ensure the application of all fundamental principles, as the voter casts their vote outside the sphere of influence of the state institutional system. However, if the ballot paper could be filled out within the building of an authority or another state institution, all those guarantees should be provided which - similar to the circumstances of personal voting - guarantee the application of the fundamental principles of the election and the electoral procedure.

According to Article 2 (1) of the Fundamental Law, parliamentary representatives are elected by secret ballot in an election that ensures the free expression of the will of the voters. The Ve. ensures the application of the fundamental principles of the election and the electoral procedure by establishing an appropriate procedure.

At the same time, the Ve. contains procedural rules to ensure the secrecy of the vote and the application of the fundamental principles of the electoral procedure only with regard to voting at foreign representations (e.g., voting booth, presence of observers, the role of the foreign representation election office in maintaining order).

The Ve. does not explicitly prohibit filling out the ballot paper and the identification declaration for postal votes in the building of the foreign representation, but it also does not establish a procedure - with appropriate guarantees - that would ensure the application of the principle of protecting the integrity of the election and the principle of good faith and proper exercise of rights, and with which voters could cast their votes secretly and without influence.

Budapest, 11 March 2014.

Dr. András Patyi
President of the National Election Committee

[1] Repealed by Directive 1/2021. NVB, Ineffective: from 4 November 2021