The Saeima faction of New Unity is reportedly against the adoption of new-type ballots next year, as confirmed by the faction’s member Gatis Liepiņš at a meeting of the Public Administration and Local Government Committee on Wednesday, the 18th of September.
New Unity believes it would be best to adopt new ballots for the next Saeima elections, which are scheduled for 2026.
The State Regional Development Agency (VRAA), which is the institution responsible for preparing the voting system, notes that the existing ballots are “problematic”, because often citizens make one mistake –
when they don’t want to support some candidate, they draw a minus sign in the space next to the name instead of crossing out the name.
The new ballots will have two areas for marks: one green space, for residents to support a particular candidate, and one red, for residents to mark if they do not want this candidate to be elected. With this system, it won’t matter if voters draw a plus or a minus sign, or if they fill the whole space, because the automatic ballot processing system will automatically mark as valid any sign put in the relevant field.
The Central Election Commission (CVK) believes that with the introduction of the new ballot papers, the voting procedure will become better understood and simpler for voters, as well as the marks made in such ballots would be much faster and easier to count in an automated way.
CVK Chairperson Kristīne Saulīte said there have been two focus groups trying out the new ballots, and participants, including seniors, have been “thrilled.” Today, members of the commission also tried out the new ballot papers and the automated ballot system. The feedback has been generally positive so far.
Saeima committees decided to move forward with amendments suggested by CVK, who would like to see legislative changes come into force by the end of October.