envelopes, stained by glue, or accidentally damaged when opened will not be considered as invalid during counting 19. As in previous elections, mobile ballot boxes were used to make door-to-door visits to the most vulnerable voters and allow them to cast their ballots at home. While ANFREL has long welcomed this initiative, these mobile polling stations were found to be the weakest part of the electoral process in terms of procedural safeguards. Indeed, some poll workers used unsealed ballot boxes or kept the envelopes containing marked ballots in bigger envelopes, plastic bags, or even canvas rice bags. In Tanintharyi region, a ballot box containing marked ballots was left unguarded on a truck while poll workers were conducting advance voting at a nearby hospital. Because advance voting was expanded on short notice to accommodate a much greater number of voters, polling staff were also routinely seen using ballot boxes and supplies that were intended for Election Day in an attempt to cope with the large number of early votes. In a few of the advance polling stations visited, issues were reported with regard to the secrecy of ballots cast. Some polling stations had arranged polling booths in a way that failed to provide sufficient privacy, or voters who were visited at home were not always offered the possibility to mark their ballots privately. Most concerning, however, were the voting procedures in quarantine centres and hospitals where COVID-19 patients were being treated. ANFREL observers in some areas were informed or witnessed first-hand that voters in quarantine centres were not allowed to cast their ballots themselves, but instead had to notify polling staff of the candidates of their choice so that ballot papers could be stamped in their place. 19 https://www.uec.gov.mm/news_preview_detail.php?action=news_detail1&news_id=ULw22%2FBwRaNX3RE KtJDtzzLt9rUGF7An0u1iGS5ZyL8%3D 14