Bulgarian Council for Economic Analyses

A "In focus" piece by the Bulgarian Council for Economic Analyses, authored by Teodora Tsankova and Milena Djourelova, examines the impact of voting technologies on the accuracy of the electoral process. Prior to the introduction of machine voting, the share of invalid ballots in parliamentary elections reached up to 4.6%. With mandatory machine voting, this share dropped to zero. In mixed elections, where voters can choose between machine and paper ballots, a higher proportion of machine voting is associated with a lower percentage of invalid votes. The analysis indicates that a 10 percentage point increase in machine voting leads to a 0.25 point decrease in invalid ballots. This effect is particularly strong in areas with lower education levels, high concentrations of ethnic minorities, and a significant proportion of elderly individuals—regions where the issue of invalid ballots is most pronounced. The study recommends targeted information campaigns aimed at these voter groups to promote machine voting and enhance the accuracy of elections.

The analysis is available here.