Election in Latvia poorly accessible to disabled people

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The electoral law should be amended to help solve long-standing issues on how to provide information and amenities for the group of voters that includes people with disabilities, said Kristīne Bērziņa, president of the Central Election Commission (CVK), on Latvian Radio on September 23.

It is a matter of adapting polling materials and stations to people with reduced mobility or vision, training of the election staff, and other things.

"In order to move this issue and to start at national level, at municipal level, to address these issues more strongly, our view would also require amendments to the electoral law, where these requirements are imposed on certain institutions. Until now, we have faced the challenge of raising funding for the implementation of all measures,” said Bērziņa.

Bērziņa believes that the possibility of voting onsite must be available to everyone: “People want to be mobile and, if they are not ill, they should be able to vote in the same way as any other voter. The good news of Saeima elections is that it is possible to vote at any polling station."

Currently, for people who cannot access polling stations due to mobility or other issues, there is an option of voting from home if the service is booked in advance.

The 14th Saeima elections take place in Latvia on October 1, 2023, 7:00 to 20:00.

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