The incident occurred after 5 p.m. at the polling station at 5 Bielska Street in Bolesławiec. The man wanted to leave with the ballot papers. The commission members did not agree to this. The man then tore up the papers, but still refused to hand them over. The police were called. Some commission members prevented the man from leaving the polling station.
After the officers arrived, the man handed over the ballot papers. He was later taken to the police station.
The incident did not disrupt voting, so the election silence will not be extended for this reason.
In 2017, the Commissioner for Human Rights appealed to the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission with a request to take a position on such a situation, when a citizen wants to take a ballot paper out of the polling station. In the Commissioner's view, the issue of this type of conduct is complex, as two values may come into conflict: on the one hand, concern for the integrity of elections and the effort to prevent any irregularities in the voting process; on the other hand, citizens' desire to express their views.
