Over 2,500 ballots spoiled at local election
More than 2,500 spoiled ballots had been counted by Monday evening after recounts took place throughout the day.
By 10 p.m. on Monday, 2,543 spoiled ballots had been counted.
Vote counters said that in local elections, voters tend to fill out ballots more conscientiously than, for example, in Riigikogu elections.
"In my opinion, local elections are more proper, and there are not so many comments on the ballots," said Anna Generalova, chair of the Kohtla-Järve electoral committee.
"In the past, people have written all sorts of perversions, but this election was very polite," said Piia Lipp, deputy chair of the Jõhvi electoral committee.
A common way of spoiling a ballot is by drawing a cross in the number box. In Kohtla-Järve, one Russian-speaking voter wrote that none of the candidates deserved a seat on the council.
The most disputes in election committees arise over how numbers are written.
"For example, 7 and 1. Especially if someone draws a line under a 1, then it is unclear if it curves upward and is actually a 7. And 3 and 5, does it have a tail or a roof or not? These are the numbers that get confused. Or the handwriting is like a doctor's, and you cannot make out what is written," Lipp told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
"It can also happen that when a person is writing, they change their mind. First they write the number 3, then they correct it and put 8. In such a case, the committee votes on whether it is understandable or not," said Generalova.
Among the 14,600 voters in Saaremaa, there was also one polite, smiling ballot spoiler.
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Editor: Helen Wright
