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The additional voting station installed on Savanorių Avenue is open from 10 am to 8 pm on Wednesdays and from 7 am to 8 pm on Thursdays.
Upon arrival to vote, a member of the electoral commission will establish the identity of the voter and issue the voting documents. The voter, while in his vehicle, will fill out the ballots, place them in an envelope, seal them and return them to the member of the electoral commission.
We also invite all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who wish to vote early to take advantage of this innovation. Waiting for the big queue, so we invite you to be patient. I would like to point out that this point is not for people in self-isolation. It is for all voters who want to vote early.
The CEC anticipated that there should be a person in the car. If two people have arrived, one of them must leave the vehicle so that the person can fill out the ballot without obstacles, so that the secrecy of the vote is not violated, ”said Laura Matjošaitytė, president of the CEC, at the press conference.
Individuals in self-isolation are not welcome
The president of the CEC reiterated that this topic was not prepared for those who are in self-isolation. According to him, there should be a much more complex technical solution, requiring training of commission members and flow management.
“This would require a corresponding change in the commission’s decision and more preparatory work. I want to draw the attention of people in self-isolation, you can vote at home,” said the president of the CEC.
When asked why Vilnius authorities announced an electoral college for the isolated, although other institutions denied it, the director of the municipal administration, Povilas Poderskis, explained on Wednesday that the electoral college is for all voters.
“Everyone can vote here. And people who are isolated cannot leave their place of self-isolation. In my understanding, they are not the subject of this conversation. These types of points can be useful to anyone who arrives by car.
If someone in self-isolation were to violate the self-isolation order and came into the neighborhood, then we would not ask if the neighborhood is for those in self-isolation. Similarly, the same question here. The point is for everyone, if others have some restrictions on their freedom, then they act at their own discretion, ”Mr. Podersky replied.
Kasiulevičius: this decision will be approved not only in Lithuania
On his Facebook account, Dr. Vytautas Kasiulevičius expressed his support: “The decision of the Vilnius municipality to install a voting point in the car is very smart and will certainly receive support not only in Lithuania.
For those who arrive by car in isolation. It is much safer for members of the electoral commission to return home, subject to security requirements, streamlining flows and adapting the experience of mobile stations. “
Veryga: It’s a shame that this is done without consulting the professionals
Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said on Wednesday morning that he regretted that the Vilnius city municipality, without consulting epidemiologists, was setting up a mobile voting station where people in isolation could also vote. The Minister stressed that only people who have returned from abroad can leave the place of self-isolation.
“I want to explain that there is such a theoretical possibility to go to a mobile point from isolation, but only for isolated travelers who have returned from the affected countries,” Veryga wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
He also argued that voting in this way would be more difficult than voting at home, since it is enough to fill out a form and express that wish. According to the minister, to leave the place of self-isolation, it is necessary to perform a coronavirus test and, if it is negative, request permission from the National Center for Public Health.
“Obviously, it is significantly more inconvenient,” said the health minister, urging that neither mobile points nor epidemiologists be unnecessarily burdened.
A. Veryga recalls that all people in self-isolation have the opportunity to vote at home. To vote at home when in self-isolation, you need to fill out an application form, sign it, take a photo or scan it and send it to the Central Election Commission by email. by mail: [email protected] If you do not have Internet access, you can request it at the short number 1855.
All voters can go to the capital drive in voting point
On Tuesday, tv3.lt already announced that the Central Electoral Commission made the decision that starting Wednesday, the residents of the capital will be able to vote from their car at the old mobile coronavirus testing point on Savanorių avenue.
“The information has already been transferred to the municipality of the city of Vilnius. The director of the municipal administration reported that it was already preparing. Hopefully tomorrow from 7 pm In the morning, at 124 Savanorių Avenue, Vilnius, it will be possible to take advantage the opportunity to vote this way. All voters will be able to vote, but one, in addition to other spectators, must come by car, “said Laura Matjošaitytė, president of the CEC, on tv3.lt on Tuesday.
“An experiment of this kind is taking place in Lithuania for the first time, we will see if it works: how many voters will vote and how they will vote.” If it weren’t for Covid-19, we would not have found such a solution and looked for alternative innovations. The current situation forces us to think differently and seek different solutions. This is another opportunity for the voter to come and vote comfortably, ”added L. Matjošaitytė.
During these elections, the voting has been extended in advance from Monday to Thursday inclusive. It used to take a couple of days. In addition, more early voting places have been installed, but in some municipalities it is not possible to vote in the municipal building itself, as it used to be.
Municipality: Vilnius will also have the opportunity to vote for people in self-isolation
On Tuesday, the Vilnius City Municipality announced on its website that an automatic polling point for early voting would be established, which is also intended for people in self-isolation.
“Vilnius has repeatedly solved the challenges during the coronavirus epidemic and we continue to do so. After assessing the population flows going to the polls, the queues already forming at the Lukiškės square point, as well as the situation with which they were in self-isolation, we found a solution. I think the voting entry point will make it possible for those in self-isolation to do their civic duty and do so safely and comfortably first. With this point, we will have up to six places different in Vilnius where we can vote right now, ”Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said in the report on Tuesday.
Until Savanorių ave. There will be a mobile point and a pre-voting place in parking lot 124 “Build and Drive”, drivers will not be able to leave their cars here as usual.
NVSC: People in self-isolation will not be able to vote from the car
People in self-isolation will not be able to use the special early voting point, which will start operating in Vilnius from Wednesday, where voting will take place without leaving the car, the National Center for Public Health (NVSC) told BNS on Tuesday night.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) and the Municipality of Vilnius provided the opportunity to vote at a special point without leaving the car from Wednesday, so that people in self-isolation could also use it.
However, NVSC representative Justina Petravičienė told BNS that the law establishing the possibilities of temporarily leaving the place of self-isolation has not changed and does not provide for additional exceptions for elections, so that a person who came to the special point to vote would violate would not receive.
“That legislation is certainly not complemented by specific provisions related to elections (…) There are clear legal exceptions in which a person can request permission from the NVSC to leave a place of self-isolation, that is, no points have been included, other points and additions “. said J. Petravičienė.
According to her, the only exception where she can leave her isolation site is to go to mobile checkpoints to perform a PCR test for COVID-19 in humans. In this case, it is necessary to have an SMS confirming the registration.
“Under the electoral regulations, people in self-isolation can express their desire to vote by submitting an application to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The NVSC will then inform the CSC, as expected, if the people have COVID-19 , they are isolated due to exposure or have had a low risk exposure when returning from abroad. And it will depend on what security measures those who turn to people have to use. We really do not know other circumstances, “said the NVSC specialist about the possibility of voting for those in self-isolation.
The Seimas elections will be held on October 11.
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