On Thursday, the non-parliamentary coalition PS/Spolu warned about complaints from Slovak ex-pats who applied to vote in the upcoming general election. Many have received incomplete ballot papers with some parties missing or containing two papers for one party. PS/Spolu called on the public prosecutor's office to examine the action of those municipalities which have not provided a complete material.
On Friday, the Interior Ministry informed Slovak press agencies that so far 4 out of the 55 141 registered voters outside Slovakia had reported incorrect ballots sent for the postal election. The Ministry blames the "human factor" for the mistake. "The papers are put into the envelope by the staff of municipal offices and the employees of the elections, referenda and political parties department," the Ministry's press department reacted. It recommends the voters who have received the incomplete material to contact the authority who sent the papers. It also suggests sending a copy of the email asking the village or town to send the new package to the address volby@minv.sk. The Ministry has already warned local authorities to sort the reports swiftly and send the new ballots on the very same day they report the problem.
The Interior Ministry is bound to send the ballots to the voters with permanent residence outside Slovakia by 25th January. There were over 4,000 requests to vote from abroad from Slovak citizens who have permanent residence outside Slovakia. Bratislava boroughs speak about the record number of such voters, doubling or even tripling the numbers from the last election in 2016. Those who will vote from abroad in 2020 must deliver the envelope containing a ballot paper at the latest by February 28.
Slovaks living abroad had to register to vote in the upcoming general election in their home-country until 10 January. After sending an email to the relevant office, they were sent a confirmation email and, later on, an envelope with the ballots. The general election will be held on February 29 from 7 am to 10 pm featuring 25 political subjects. The ex-pats are expected to circle a maximum of 4 candidates, all from the one party ballot they choose, and send it back to Slovakia in the provided envelope.
