Overview
- The Sala Superior of the TEPJF ruled on Wednesday, October 7 that ballots found without visible fold marks do not prove a lawfully cast vote and must not be counted when that condition is proven.
- The court ordered the INE to modify its lineamientos for the 2026–2027 counts so such ballots are separated, recorded on the incident sheet and excluded from vote totals.
- The decision makes the polling‑station board (mesa directiva de casilla) the primary body to declare these ballots invalid during the initial scrutiny and limits district councils to exceptional review only in recounts.
- The INE had approved a September rule, by a 7–4 vote, that left disputed unfolded ballots to district councils to evaluate and that provision was the part the TEPJF partially revoked.
- The ruling follows reports of similar unfolded ballots in 2024 and the 2025 judicial vote and has sharpened political pressure on election officials, a dynamic underscored by recent threats reported by INE counselor Frida Denisse Gómez Puga.