Steven N.
Nearly ten thousand people have already signed up as ballot counters for the 2022 Parliamentary elections as part of the Twenty-Thousand for a Clean Election in 2022 (20k22) initiative, writes 24.hu.
20k22 is a civil initiative supported by the six opposition party coalition, with the goal of finding at least two people in every electoral district in the country who can be designated by the opposition coalition as ballot counters.
According to the article, no single party in the last decade has been able to send 20,000 ballot counters to an election, not even ruling parties Fidesz-KDNP. In 2018, opposition parties were able to send out 15,150 ballot counters, yet one out of 10 electoral districts didn’t have a single ballot counter represented from the opposition.
A 20k22 spokesperson, Csilla Ruskal-Klemm, told the news source that the situation was even “worse” during the 2019 European elections, as three-quarters of electoral districts with fewer than 500 inhabitants did not have a single ballot counter sent by the opposition parties at all.
Recruitment for the effort was launched together with opposition primary elections. Their goal is 20,000, but 30,000 ballot counters would be preferable so that there are reserves in case any drop out at the last minute.
[HVG] [Photo: a person holds up a ballot during ballot counting training]
