Latvia's election board: over 700 pre-cast ballots had to be verified before vote count could start
Latvia's Central Election Commission says the delayed start of ballot counting in the 15th Saeima election was due to a required check of more than 700 ballots cast in advance custody, aimed at preventing double-counting. When municipal commissions grew impatient, the commission changed the procedure order to let counting begin while verification continued.
Latvia's Central Election Commission (CVK) has explained why the start of vote counting was delayed after polling stations closed in the 15th Saeima election. The cause was a procedural rule requiring that ballots previously deposited in custody be verified for validity before being combined with other votes.
When several municipal election commissions signaled they were no longer willing to wait for others to finish, the CVK convened an emergency session and decided to change the prescribed sequence. Commissions were then allowed to open election-day ballot boxes and begin counting election-day votes, while verification of the custody-deposited ballots continued in parallel.
Why the check was necessary
The commission explained that the verification had to be completed before custody ballots were merged with the rest, to prevent a situation where one voter's ballot would be counted twice — both the one cast earlier in custody and one cast later. If a voter who had deposited a ballot in custody later voted again, the earlier vote had to be annulled while the ballot envelope was still inside the registration envelope containing the voter's identifying information. Once envelopes were removed and mixed with others, this would no longer be possible.
According to data released by the commission, more than 700 such changed ballots were identified — 746 in total, representing 0.05% of all votes cast — shown in the voter activity table under the "Changed" column.
Commission chair's comments
CVK chairman Māris Zviedris acknowledged that public and media demand for immediate results is understandable, but said this approach limits the commission's ability to ensure that released information is fully verified and legitimate. He stressed that in a process of this scale — a parliamentary election — verifying and refining data is an essential part of the work that requires time. The commission said it took responsibility for the decision to ensure accurate vote tallying and to reduce the risk that results could later be challenged.
