Voting by mail in EP elections – only from abroad / Article

Voting by mail is only available to voters living abroad. However, four residents of Latvia have already managed to apply for voting by mail through the portal Latvija.lv and have already sent a completed ballot from a post office in Latvia. The Central Election Commission contacted them and explained the confusion.

“It is important that these shipments from foreign countries, namely the postmark, are from foreign countries, because this [iespēja] it is created primarily for those voters who have no other options, there are in-person polling stations, but there is no previous voting,” explained Kristīne Saulīte, head of the Central Election Commission.

Voters living outside of Latvia have two options to vote for the European Parliament. On election day, in one of a total of 50 polling stations – either in the Embassy of Latvia or in one of the polling stations established by the diaspora. Another option for those living abroad is to vote by mail, by applying in advance through the portal Latvija.lv.

“The main prerequisites to be able to do this is to have a valid identification (ID) card. And this time, unlike the previous Saeima elections, there is no need to apply at the embassy. The voter can do this at his own time, simply by looking at the Latvija.lv portal,” continues Saulīte .

On the Latvija.lv portal, you can find instructions on how to do it correctly, and a serial number is also assigned, so that the voter can track whether the postal item has reached the polling station.

Unlike the previous elections, the voter has to print only one list himself – the one he wants to vote for.

Although the new way of voting by mail is much simpler than the previous one, diaspora Latvians point out that many Latvians abroad have not created access to the Latvija.lv portal.

“I am concerned that there will be a large part of the diaspora who will not have access to this portal, who will not have the opportunity to vote because of this small error,” said Justīne Krēsliņa, chairperson of the European Latvian Association.

She admits that the new system for voting by mail is much more convenient. The Latvian diaspora is encouraged to participate in the elections.

“My feeling is that civic participation and responsibility have increased. Is it related to Russia’s war in Ukraine or is it related to the rest of the world,” Krēsliņa said.

The chairman of the Central Election Commission emphasized that voting by mail is also safe and anonymous. As for the counting of votes, it takes place at the polling station and the system will not be automated in this election.

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