Electronic reading of ballot papers would be more complex in Latvia than in many other countries as ballot papers are used not only to indicate which party a voter chooses but allows him or her to exrpess a like or dislike for particular candidates on the election list by adding a plus sign or crossing out the candidate's name.
According to Saulīte, this democratic process could be accommodated by the use of colored sections of the ballot paper to help electronic scanners, which would be a first for Latvia.
Next to the election candidate's name, there would be two small circles - "for" and "against" - one of which could be colored as desired. The easiest way to do this would be to use a marker, Saulīte noted. At the same time, the size of the font used on ballot papers will also increase slightly.
"We are moving in the direction of the new digital era," Saulīte said. When asked about the costs that such changes in the ballots and the counting system will require, Saulīte stated that it will not make the election process significantly more expensive, however, scanners will have to be updated. However, CVK does not yet have exact calculations for the necessary funding.
The head of the CVK noted that the new-format ballots are planned to be used already on June 7 next year in municipal elections.
On Monday, July 8, the CVK, together with the State Regional Development Agency, will present the new version of the ballot paper and its advantages to the members of the State Administration and Local Government Commission of the Saeima.
