Voters who will stay abroad during the 14th Saeima elections, will be able to vote in one of the polling stations abroad on election day, or apply to vote by mail.
! Citizens of Latvia who have reached the age of 18 by election day have the right to vote.
Voting at a polling station abroad
On election day, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time, voters will be able to vote in person at any polling station abroad. A valid Latvian citizen's passport or Latvian citizen's identity card (eID card) is required for voting.
Abroad, it will be possible to vote in a total of 81 polling stations in 42 countries. The list of polling stations is available in the polling stations section.
Voting by mail from abroad
Citizens of Latvia who are abroad and have reached the age of 18 by election day can vote from abroad.
- You must apply for voting by mail by 9 September:
From 23 July, at certain representative offices of the Republic of Latvia by mail, electronically or in person.
! When sending the application by mail or submitting it in person, the signature of the voter must be on the application.
!! When sending the application by e-mail, it must be signed with a secure electronic signature.
!!! Please keep in mind! You DO NOT NEED TO SEND the passport by mail and it will not be stamped! Voters will be listed in the electronic voter register. From 27 August in the e-service www.pmlp.gov.lv or www.latvija.lv.
Please indicate your first name, last name, personal identity number, e-mail address or official e-mail address in the application! - From 10 to 16 September, the election commission will send the address of the website where voting materials are available to the e-mail or official e-address specified by the voter.
- Print out the ballot paper of the list you are going to vote for. Fill in the ballot paper or leave it unchanged and put it in an anonymous envelope. Insert the envelope with the vote in a postal envelope, which is completed accordingly. In this envelope also place the voter's handwritten confirmation of voting in person. A sample of the confirmation will be sent to the voter together with the election materials.
- The vote must be sent by mail to the polling station commission indicated in the voting materials. The vote must arrive at the polling station by 1 October.
! A voter who applied to vote by mail may change his/her mind and vote at the polling station.
Can voters who only have an ID card apply to vote by mail?
Yes, they can. They only need to know their personal identity number. The document does not need to be sent by mail and it is not necessary to get a stamp either, because an electronic voter register is used for voter registration.
If a voter lives abroad, but will be in Latvia during the election, can he/she vote in Latvia?
Yes. Voters whose permanent place of residence is abroad, but who will stay in Latvia during the election day, may vote in any of the polling stations set up in Latvia.
If a voter lives in Latvia, but will be abroad during the elections, can he/she vote at a polling station abroad, or must he/she register somewhere beforehand?
Yes. Voters whose permanent place of residence is Latvia, but who will be abroad during the election day, may vote in any of the polling stations, which is more convenient to reach, set up abroad. They don’t need to apply beforehand.
What will the working hours of the polling stations be on the 14th Saeima elections day, 1 October?
On Saeima elections day, 1 October, polling stations will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Such working hours will be both for polling stations in Latvia and for polling stations abroad. Polling stations abroad will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time.
Can you vote in advance abroad?
No. The Saeima Election Law does not stipulate depositing of the vote in polling stations abroad. Abroad, you can (could) apply to vote by mail until 9 September.
What is the voting procedure at a polling station abroad?
The procedure for voting abroad is the same as the procedure for voting in any of Latvia's polling stations.
Can voters abroad also apply to vote in the place where the voter is located?
No. The Saeima Election Law stipulates the provision of this option on the territory of Latvia only. Why not? The reason is the long distance between the voter and the polling station abroad.
Can a voter who has applied for voting by mail, received or already sent voting materials by mail, reconsider and vote on election day at the polling station?
Yes, he/she can. In this case, the vote cast at the polling station will be counted, but the vote by mail be annulled.
What voting materials will I receive if I vote by mail? What do I have to do with them?
Voting materials will include ballot paper designs of all candidates' lists registered in the voter's electoral district (Riga), as well as information on how to complete a vote by mail package.
To vote, you will need:
- two postal envelopes - one larger, the other smaller;
- stamps – for sending the vote to the vote by mail election commission specified in the voting materials;
- printer – for printing ballot papers;
- two A4 sheets – for printing the ballot paper and preparing the voting confirmation.
The voter must print out one ballot paper from all the ballot papers - the one that corresponds to the list of candidates he/she wants to vote for. The ballot paper can be left blank or marks can be made in it - a “+” mark can be placed for those candidates, the election of which the voter particularly supports, or candidates whose election the voter does not support can be crossed out.
After that, the selected ballot paper must be put in the first - the smallest envelope. The envelope must be sealed and placed in a larger envelope.
In this envelope also place the voter's handwritten confirmation of voting in person. A sample of the confirmation will be sent to the voter together with the election materials.
On this (postal envelope) an address of the polling station commission, which is seen in the voting materials available at the sent website address, must be indicated, as well as the person’s name, surname and serial number on the voter list, which will be indicated in the information on how to complete the voting by mail package. It must also be written on the envelope that it contains an election envelope.
The shipment must arrive at the polling station by the start of the counting of votes on 1 October 2022 at 8:00 p.m. local time.
Can I send my voting by mail letter while being in the territory of Latvia?
No, the shipment with a vote by mail must be sent from abroad. Shipments that arrive with a Latvian postmark or that contain information that they were delivered to the post office in Latvia will not be opened and will not be counted.