The National Electoral Institute (INE) has launched the interactive platform Practice Your Vote with the goal of allowing citizens to practice their vote and familiarize themselves with the ballots for the upcoming judicial elections. On this platform, voters can access information about the candidates for judges, including details about their identity, background, and curriculum profile.
However, as people use this tool, various doubts have arisen due to the complexity of the electoral ballots. Laurence Pantin, director of Fair Trial AC, raises questions such as the lack of consistency between the ballots and the criteria behind their design, as well as how the votes will be counted and whether their validity will be affected by these issues.
One point that has generated confusion is the distribution of boxes in relation to the available positions for magistrates and judges in different sections. For example, there is uncertainty about how many boxes voters should fill when there are more boxes than vacancies, and whether a null vote in one box will affect the entire ballot or just that specific vote.
Furthermore, the organization of the ballots, which in some cases encourages voting for a man and a woman when there is only one vacancy available for a subject, has raised questions about the logic behind these decisions. Pantin also suggests that it would have been more useful to organize candidates by subjects instead of alphabetically.
Amid these doubts, there is concern about consistency in counting and the validity of the votes cast in these judicial elections. Laurence Pantin highlights the complexity presented by the ballots and raises the question of whether possible inconsistencies in ballot design could affect the final outcome of the vote.
In short, the INE's Practice Your Vote platform has opened the door to numerous uncertainties and questions about the upcoming electoral process, generating a debate about clarity and coherence in the ballots and vote counting, just a month before the judicial elections.
