Latvian citizens who plan to be abroad when 14th Saeima elections commence have one last chance to sign up for mail voting from foreign countries. This option will end today, 9 September, Latvian Central Election Commission (CVK) reminds.
According to CVK, citizens can sign up for mail voting using the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) e-service section or at any of the 22 Latvian diplomatic and consular offices that have a voting mailbox.
In accordance with Law on the Election of the Saeima, votes received at election sites located in foreign countries will be added to votes in Riga elections site.
This means voters abroad will be able to vote for candidates applied for elections in Riga election region.
Voters who have a secure electronic signature or the option to access e-services using Latvian internet banking services can sign up for mail voting.
Voters who cannot sign up for mail voting using e-services, can still sign up at any one of 22 Latvian diplomatic and consular offices in foreign countries.
Citizens will need to provide a written application with their name, surname, personal code, e-mail address or official e-mail address to receive official voting documents. Example forms are available on the website of the Central Election Commission. One important requirement is for all forms to be signed. If citizens send a form electronically, they have to be signed with a secure electronic signature.
To keep track of voters, it has been decided to use a register. Residents will receive no stamps in their passports this time.
This means that in order to sign up for mail voting, citizens with voting rights are not required to present a passport or other personal ID, reports CVK.
How is the voting procedure carried out?
According to information from CVK, in order to vote, Latvian citizens will have to prepare two envelopes – one small and one large.
Of all the ballots that will be provided to citizens electronically, only one will need to be printed out – the one with the list of candidates citizens want to support. The ballot can be left unchanged or citizens can add a «+» sign next to the names of candidates they wish to support and a «-» next to the names of candidates they do not support.
After that the ballot will need to be placed in the first – small envelope. It should then be sealed and placed in the large envelope.
On the large envelope voters will need to write a signed affirmation that he or she voted personally.
An example text will be included with the documents citizens will receive on their e-mail address.
The ballot will have to be mailed to the election site the voter registered with when signing up for mail voting.
The ballot will need to be sent with an estimate in mind so that it is delivered to the election site by Election Day – 1 October.
Voters who sign up for mail voting can still change their mind and come to their election site in person to vote.