Latvia's election board: counting delayed by checks on over 700 deposited ballots
Latvia's Central Election Commission said the start of vote counting in the Saeima election was delayed on Saturday evening because more than 700 ballots deposited for safekeeping had to be verified first.
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Reason for the delay
Latvia's Central Election Commission (CVK) has explained why the start of vote counting in Saturday's Saeima parliamentary election was pushed back. According to the commission, the process was held up because more than 700 ballots connected to a special "deposit for safekeeping" procedure needed to be checked before counting could begin.
What the procedure involves
The deposit-for-safekeeping mechanism allows a voter to cast a ballot at a polling station other than the one where they are officially registered. After election day, such ballots must be forwarded and verified under a set procedure to ensure each vote is correctly attributed to the right electoral district.
The CVK said that this time the number of ballots requiring this kind of check exceeded 700, and processing them all took extra time before the commission could move on to the general vote count.
Effect on the process
The large volume of ballots needing verification meant election organizers required more time to finish preparatory work. The CVK linked the delay directly to this verification process. Vote counting is a key step toward determining the final results of the Saeima election, so any slowdown at this stage affects how quickly the public receives information about how the election is unfolding.
