The Central Electoral Board ignores the PSOE and refuses to review all invalid votes in Madrid

According to PSOE calculations, if 4.43% of the 30,200 ballots that were classified as invalid were validated, they could “recover” the seat that the PP won after the recount of the foreign vote. But the JEC rejects the PSOE’s claim, emphasizing that “no indication of irregularity is adduced.”

The Central Electoral Board (JEC) has dismissed the appeal of the PSOE that asked to revoke the counting of the votes cast in Madrid in the general elections of July 23 and, beyond correcting three ballots, has confirmed the distribution of seats that it gave for good the Provincial Board.

The PSOE asked to review all the invalid votes of 23J in Madrid, because according to their calculations, if 4.43% of the 30,200 ballots that were classified as invalid were validated, the Socialists could “recover” the seat that the PP won after the recount of the foreign vote.

But the JEC rejects the PSOE’s claim, emphasizing that “no reason or indication of irregularity is given” in the treatment of invalid votes, the procedure followed is not even questioned.

According to the resolution of the JEC, in order to adopt “a decision as serious” as reviewing the general scrutiny carried out by the Provincial Electoral Board of Madrid “it is necessary to invoke weighty arguments”, and instead it stresses that the PSOE “does not adduce any reason or indication of irregularity” in the treatment of invalid votes, and the procedure followed is not even questioned.

“The aim is, in short, to turn the Provincial Electoral Board into a universal review table for all the votes declared invalid by all the tables of the constituency without alleging a specific irregularity that justifies this examination. A measure of this nature, in the opinion of this Board, lacks constitutional and legal anchorage since it would radically disfigure the procedure provided for in the LOREG, would prevent compliance with the established legal deadlines and could even affect the constitution of the Chamber”, concludes the highest arbitration body.

In his opinion, “it is not that invalid votes cannot be challenged, but rather that this questioning must be done at the appropriate procedural moment”, which was the same day of the elections, after the conclusion of the recount of the votes in the electoral tables”, where the proxies and controllers of the PSOE were present. And to claim days later, already in the Provincial Board, was “untimely”.

However, the Madrid electoral board offered to study specific cases and the PSOE presented another appeal asking to review certain votes that were considered invalid.

The JEC dismisses all the specific claims except for a ballot in Collado Villalba that was put in the envelope cut in half, another in Madrid that had an E written from top to bottom and another from Torrejón de Ardoz on which he had written a scribble.

From now on, it is only possible to file a contentious-administrative appeal before the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court within a period of two months.

The decision of the Central Electoral Board, which is made up of eight Supreme Court magistrates and five jurists elected by the parties, has not been unanimous, but a particular vote will be presented regarding the general review of the null vote.

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