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Electronic ballots can’t be spoiled

However, anything could be done to the paper ballots

MOSCOW, February 29 (Itar-Tass) —— The so-called protest vote is hardly possible with the electronic voting systems, Secretary of the Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) Nikolai Konkin told Itar-Tass on Wednesday in commenting on the appeals of several political forces to cross out the ballot papers.

“The electronic ballot paper cannot be spoiled,” he confirmed.

“Everything can be done on the paper. If there are no remarks or they are few or a ballot paper is crossed out, the elections committee will find it invalid,” the CEC secretary elaborated. As for the electronic voting system “the software program does not permit this,” Konkin noted.

The non-system opposition earlier urged to spoil ballot papers at the presidential elections. According to them, the ballot papers spoilt at the presidential elections will bring down the percentage of the main candidate and make the second round more probable.