“The government owns the elections,” Gazeta Wyborcza informed its readers, written by Wojciech Czuchnowski. All because of the amendment to the Electoral Act, which, among other things, facilitates access to polling places for voters in smaller towns and introduces the inclusion of the entire – and not just the start and end periods – of the work of election commissions. What is editor Czuchnowski afraid of?
“Wyborcza’ does not pay attention in his text to the many facilities for voters introduced by the amendment. Not only will it be possible to vote at more polling stations, but the municipal council will also be obliged to provide free transport to the polling station for all voters with a disability and not only for them. However, this “Wyborcza” does not seem worthy of attention. It aims at deterring voters from the opposition. Only what?
Central Electoral Register
According to “Wyborcza”, the government will “put its claws” in the elections with the help of the Central Electoral Register.
As we read in the text of editor Czuchnowski, the Minister of Digitization ensures the maintenance of CRW and its development to carry out the duties of the electoral law. “Wyborcza” also states that “among other things, the Minister of Digitization ensures protection against unauthorized access to the register, monitors its integrity and availability, prevents damage and ensures data security. In turn, “the operation of the network that provides access is to the Central Electoral Register” under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior. In short, the tasks of both ministers with regard to the conduct of the elections must be regarded as very necessary.
So what if the minister of digitization and the minister of the interior are not from the political camp that editor Czuchnowski would like. If they were ministers in the government of, say, PO-Links, ensuring protection against unauthorized access to the registry or ensuring data security would be considered most desirable. However, since these are ministers from – as Czuchnowski writes – “highly politicized ministries”, the only conclusion that occurs to Czuchnowski is that “the government is putting its hand on the elections”.
It’s worth asking at this point: who is highly politicized here?
“Wyborcza” does not like that “the new minister has been given enormous powers” to be responsible for a system that will integrate the work of the existing nearly 2.5 thousand employees. municipal voter files. As a result, municipalities do not have to exchange information about voters who change voting places, which is always accompanied by the possibility of making a mistake, e.g. it eliminates the risk of double voting.
Recording the activities of election commissions
According to “Wyborcza”, another tool by which “the government controls the elections” is the fact that since March 31, when the amendment came into effect, the activities of the electoral district’s electoral commission can be registered by the trustees of the time when the commission takes the first steps until the protocol is signed. At the same time, the Electoral Act allows stewards to record the work of the Election Commission, not voters’ votes.
And what was it like before the “government took control of the elections”? Before the change came into effect, store clerks could only record the committee’s activities until the start of voting and only from the close of the polling station until the signing of the protocol.
Worth asking again? Why does Red.Czuchnowski react so badly to the introduction of the possibility to record the work of election commissions during the entire period from the beginning of the vote to the end? Because that’s what the amendment does.
According to the previous regulations, the recordings made in this way were appended to the minutes of the committee.
– notes Czuchnowski himself, suggesting that this is what completely protects these recordings from manipulation.
Now they all have to go to the Ministry of Digitization, “which stores them until the validity of the elections is declared”
Czuchnowski continues. And this – in his opinion – is an easy way to abuse. It is a pity that this thought is not correct in any way.
It is, of course, reasonable to ask how the authors of the amendment intend to enforce non-copying and deletion of devices and all recording media by the end of the day following the day the district electoral commission approves the voting protocol. This problem existed even before the amendment was introduced.
The rest of editor Czuchnowski’s text focuses on claims similar to the above, and in fact on the author’s political insinuations that what would be perfectly safe and well used in the hands of ministers – representatives of the current opposition, will be dangerous and dangerous in the hands of current ministers, used only for evil purposes. The paper of “Election” will endure everything, but who will buy these fears?
rdm/”Gazeta Wyborcza”
Source: wPolityce