The Ministry of the Interior today on its Web site has published a manual for mayors of municipalities affected by the floods, advising on how to proceed with the upcoming elections.
"The organisation of elections in the territory of the municipality is in the hands of the mayors of the municipalities and municipal authorities. The Ministry of the Interior perceives the difficult situation in the flood-affected areas in the close proximity to the elections. Thus, we are doing our utmost to coordinate support in securing the elections and offering assistance," said the Interior Ministry offered to help the municipalities with alternative premises, a source of electricity, members of the election commissions and replacement ballots.
Specifically, it offered the following assistance:
- the unavailability of a polling station and the need for an alternative solution
o In the event that the municipality cannot provide alternative facilities, the appropriate County Fire Department will assist in setting up a temporary polling place
- the need to provide electricity for the polling station
o In the event that polling places are without electricity, the Fire Department, the State Administration of Material Reserves, or the JSDH of the municipality will assist in securing an alternate power source
- threat to the staffing of the elections (filling of precinct election commissions)
o government agencies and other institutions and organisations are prepared to offer their staff or members to the commissions
- unavailability of data for the electoral roll from central registers
o The MoI will assist in securing data through an alternative route
- lack of electoral documentation
o The MoI has increased the reserves and distributes them to the regional offices/distribution points at the ORP
- unavailability of the Czech Statistical Office's receiving point
o The CSO finds a solution to determine the reachable collection point
The "Methodology for the Procedure for Ensuring Elections to Regional Councils and the Senate in Municipalities Affected by Floods" discusses the individual points in more detail.
If it is not possible to hold the election at the polling station as originally announced, it states that "The Electoral Act does not strictly state that it is necessary for a polling station to be located in the territory of the constituency for which it was established; the legal requirement is accessibility from the perspective of the average voter. The Electoral Law does not set standards for the polling station in the sense that it has to be a conference room with a certain minimum area and certain furnishings, i.e. it is possible to place the polling station in an office, apartment, etc. As a last resort, it is conceivable to locate the polling station on the land of a neighbouring municipality in the same region, provided that accessibility is maintained."
If a suitable room cannot be found in a roofed building, it is recommended "the possibility of setting up a polling station in alternative spaces - a unimobile, a tent or a gazebo, or completely in an open outdoor space - even in such spaces the equipment of the polling station required by the electoral law can be placed, the legality of the elections will not be compromised if the state emblem and the state flag are placed alternatively according to character."
As a last resort, if the above options are not objectively feasible or not an available alternative from the voters' point of view, the methodology "it is possible to provide for elections in the territory of a polling station entirely in a portable ballot box - in such a case, it is necessary to inform voters by all available means and to ensure a functional system of 'ordering' and mutual checking of statements from the voters' list among the members of the precinct election commission in order to avoid double voting. However, it will be essential to ensure that there is space for the counting of votes after the close of voting."
In the affected areas, it can be expected that, given the primary interest of precinct election committee members to ensure the protection of their property, resignations of members will occur and the precinct election committee will fall below the number designated as the minimum by the mayor of the municipality. The Election Law sets the minimum number of commission members at six members and four members for precincts of up to 300 voters; if the number falls below the statutory limit, the mayor of the municipality is required to make up the members. In such cases, it is not necessary to draw up a certificate of membership of the precinct election commission.
The methodology states that "as a last resort, it is possible that a commission will be appointed for a particular precinct that is identical in personnel to the commission that is able to function in the municipality and provide for another precinct - there will remain two precincts with two commissions, but both precincts will be served by the same commission in one polling place [the draw for the chair and vice-chair will be made for each precinct separately; there may be two (vice-)chairpersons who act in coordination with each other, or the same person may be drawn for both districts]. One space for ballot paper adjustment is sufficient, but there must be two ballot boxes, two voters' list extracts. The Commission must take care to ensure that the voter casts his vote in the correct ballot box for the precinct to which he belongs. Subsequently, two statements of the result of the election will be made - one for each precinct. In this connection, it is once again stressed that the utmost care must be taken to keep the precincts separate, as set out below. Members who serve on two commissions at the same time shall be entitled to remuneration for serving on both commissions."
According to the methodology, the last resort is "providing voting even with less than the legal number of commissioners - it is always better to provide voting for citizens even with the legal standard being lowered than not opening the room. If the number of committee members falls below the statutory limits, this will need to be recorded in the notes to the precinct poll record."
The methodology also describes one specific possible case: "If the members of the commission would need to secure a ballot at the voter's portable ballot box and at the same time no member of the commission remains in the polling place, the voting may be suspended for the time necessary (in the event of a staffing crisis, it is preferable that at least two members of the commission remain in the room and a third member be dispatched independently with the portable ballot box - it is not recommended that only one member of the commission remain in the polling place)."
According to the ministry, the regional office of the Moravian-Silesian Region and selected distribution points in municipalities with extended jurisdiction in the Olomouc Region will receive an additional reserve of sets of ballots and official envelopes that can be used in case the ballots are destroyed by a flood in the municipality.
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