Bulgaria's Central Election Commission says voting machines for polling stations abroad in the October 25 presidential election will travel as diplomatic cargo, sent by the foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry put forward the plan, which follows the same steps used in the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 elections, and in April 2026.
The machines start out at a warehouse in Sofia, where foreign ministry staff collect them from Siela Norma AD. The ministry then delivers them to Bulgaria's embassies and consulates abroad.
Each machine travels in its own sealed case. When the machines reach the polling station committees, officials fill out a handover form listing the polling station number, the machine number and the seal number.
The commission also ruled that the machines will go back to the Sofia warehouse the same way.
Bulgarians abroad had until September 29 to apply to vote. The commission now has until October 3 to say which countries and locations will have polling stations, and how many each place will get.