PESARO – Photos of the ballot with your name, candidate in the storm.
One to get him into trouble Instagram story also bounced on Facebook: we see a pencil and a ballot paper where someone crosses out a symbol and writes two names next to it. After a while the story disappears but someone had time to take a screenshot of it which went viral first in the chats and then posted on his Facebook page by Marco Lanzi, candidate for mayor of the centre-right.
Just enough to feed controversies and trigger complaints. But it is still unclear whether it is a facsimile or the original.
«A candidate from the Belloni list posted and subsequently removed from his profile a photo of his ballot paper with pencil in hand and vote cast – explains Marco Lanzi – for those who don’t know it is absolutely forbidden, it is a very serious violation of the law. Yet another complaint that we are forced to forward against center-left candidates.”
Then Perricci: «I have already filed the complaint – reinforces Perricci, a long-time lawyer – also because he has made more than one publication of that photo and it is very serious».
The law expressly prohibits the introduction of telephones and any other instrument suitable for taking photos and videos inside the voting booth. This is because the vote is personal and secret and cannot be disclosed or, even worse, published on social networks. The reason for the ban is to prevent the phenomenon of “vote swapping” and electoral fraud of any kind. Specifically, taking a photo of the ballot paper to record the vote cast is prohibited by law 96/2008. Not only. The 2nd paragraph of article 48 of the Constitution provides that the vote is “personal and equal, free and secret.”
The story was taken down from social media shortly after. Santini justified himself by saying that it was a facsimile, even if the pencil in the photo looked like a “seat”.
«I spoke with the representatives of the list – continues Lanzi – and they told me that the one posted by Santini was a similar one, a pity that even in that case it would be considered a misleading and prohibited act towards the electorate given that it was posted during voting day. I am disconcerted by the ease with which the rules are violated and I will not fail to report any crime to the authorities.”
