In Poland, a serious error at a polling station is under investigation: the official protocol and the system of the National Electoral Commission (PKW) had the candidates’ results mixed up. According to the investigation, commission members incorrectly entered the vote count data, which resulted in the victory being effectively attributed to another candidate.
According to the documents, Karol Nawrocki allegedly received 585 votes, while Rafał Trzaskowski received 346. However, the actual count showed the opposite: Trzaskowski received 583 votes, and Nawrocki received 343.
Thus, the error effectively led to a distortion of the voting results at the polling station and could have influenced the perception of the election outcomes at the local level.
The prosecutor’s office indicates that the cause of the incident was not only an error in data entry but also the lack of proper verification before the protocol was approved and the information was submitted to the PKW system.
Investigators emphasize that the commission members did not conduct a final verification of the data, which allowed the error to enter the official results.
Nine Accused
The investigation began in June 2025. Based on the collected evidence, charges have been brought against nine members of the electoral commission No. 17. They are accused of unintentional failure to perform official duties (Article 231 §3 of the Polish Penal Code), including incorrect determination of voting results and lack of data verification.
Most of the suspects have admitted their guilt and provided explanations. No preventive measures have been applied to them.
For such violations, penalties include fines, restriction of freedom, or imprisonment for up to two years.
The investigation is ongoing — the prosecutor’s office is examining all circumstances of the incident and possible systemic failures in the vote counting procedure.
