Conducting Research on Handwriting Objects in Signature Sheets as Part of Election Campaigns: “Error Correction”

During the election campaign last summer, the author of this article was engaged by the management of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to verify the correctness of activities associated with the expert study of voters’ signature sheets in support of the nomination of candidates for the Moscow City Duma. This participation was caused by numerous complaints of candidates for deputies who were refused registration because of insufficient number of reliable signatures of voters. Falsification of signature sheets was revealed by handwriting experts. Moreover, there has been a wave of rallies and demonstrations in support of unregistered candidates around the country, where doubts about the correctness of the expert checks and distrust to their results have been actively proclaimed. It was declared mainly by people doing little (if anything) with judicial graphology. In the paper we decided to address this problem in order to competently analyse the current situation, as well as to develop optimal ways to overcome possible negative consequences related to checking signature sheets by expert graphologists.

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