Latvia opens polling stations for early ballot safekeeping today

Polling stations across Latvia will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday for voters to submit ballots for safekeeping ahead of Saturday’s 15th Saeima election, LSM reports.

Voters who cannot cast a ballot on election day can submit one at any polling station during the early voting period. The remaining hours are Thursday, October 1, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Friday, October 2, from noon to 3 p.m.

Voters can change their choice through election day. Only the last ballot cast will count, whether it was submitted for safekeeping or by post.

At least 38,400 voters, or 2.47% of the electorate, submitted ballots for safekeeping on September 28 and 29. Including 4,907 applications for postal voting, participation had reached about 43,400, or 2.79%.

Ballots are submitted in secret. Polling station staff place the chosen ballot in a sealed voting envelope, then put it in a separate registration envelope marked with the voter’s name and number on the voter list. The voter’s details are recorded to ensure that only one ballot is counted for each voter.