Austria postpones presidential election over defective glue on mail-in ballot envelopes

Austria's presidential election was postponed for a second time, this time because of malfunctioning ballot envelopes, the interior minister said Monday.

The election was to be held on October 2, but Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka announced that some envelopes for mail-in ballots have defective sealing glue.

Parliamentary leaders met with Sobotka Monday and declared December 4 the new date of the election.

"I must recognize that a ballot-card production error is the reason why we cannot guarantee an election that is irreproachably in conformity with the law. We cannot estimate today how many and which of these ballot cards could still open," Sobotka, who oversees elections, said in announcing the postponement.

An opened envelope received by the election board would invalidate the vote it contained...
 [upi.com]
12/9/16
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