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By the way, the Health Ministry would like the electoral commission lists to do without the elderly this year, but the CEC calls this discrimination.
PHOTO GALLERY. This year’s elections will be different: these are the changes that await
The elections this fall will be completely different from what we are used to. Not only will voters have to wear protective masks, but they will also be advised to bring their own pen.
In October, voters will have to travel to the polls one by one, at a safe distance. Voters will be able to remove their masks only after the voting procedure, whether outside.
“If they don’t have a mask, the members of the electoral commissions will make sure that the voter receives personal protective equipment,” says Laura Matjošaitytė, president of the Central Election Commission.
The members of the commissions must constantly ventilate the voting premises, disinfect the tables or chairs. The Central Election Commission urges people to nominate their favorites in elections early so they can vote quickly without standing still. It would be good not to gather the children.
“There will be requirements to observe the social distance of other voters, of the members of the electoral commissions, of the observers, to disinfect their hands. The most important thing is that there are no groups, nor marrying people who are not voters or who do not vote in that electoral college ”, says L. Matjošaitytė.
There will be more innovation. After putting their ballot in the ballot box, people will have to leave the room through a completely different door than the one they had. This is necessary so that the image of the elections on Sundays in October is not reminiscent of previous years, when voters simply begged each other. Because coronavir poses a particular risk to retirees, the Health Department is sending them a message specifically. Older people should go to the polls in the morning while young people are still sleeping.
“They are even recommended a special schedule, from 7 to 9. For the elderly to be able to perform their functions, they must vote before the great current begins,” said Deputy Health Minister Algirdas Šešelgis.
The composition of the electoral commissions also provokes discussions this year. The ministry would like to stop people of retirement age from working on commissions this entire year.
“If we are dealing with people at risk and with other people’s health problems, it should be taken very seriously that these people should not participate in the electoral commissions this time, but leave them in the hands of other people”, says A. Šešelgis.
Eugenija Ibianskienė, a long-time commissioner and president of the Vilnius Šeškinė-Šnipiškės electoral district, is open, not afraid to work during the elections: “I am not very afraid of myself. As God will give, so will it be. “
She says she is more concerned with how to deal with early voting days. Last year, before the presidential elections, more than 50 thousand voters from all over Lithuania were killed in the city municipality in just a couple of days, and this year it will be possible to vote in advance not two, but even four days.
“I am very afraid of having employees. Because if older people start to give up… After all, older people often work toward retirement. All the other people who have normal jobs can’t even go out all week if they have to sit here, ”says E. Ibianskienė.
“The CEC cannot discriminate against our senior citizens, prohibit or restrict their opportunities to participate in the activities of electoral commissions. Each person must decide and self-evaluate,” says L. Matjošaitytė.
The president of the electoral commission assures that there will be enough personnel, this year a reserve list is even being created. By the way, those who feel the symptoms of a cold on Election Day will be allowed to vote. Even if a person coughs, the masks are said to protect those around them. Covid-19 patients or those in isolation will also be able to exercise their civil rights on election days: either in a medical institution or at home.
True, they will have to inform the district commission in advance so that its members arrive at the patient ready, in protective suits. They will be asked to complete the security bulletin at the door. All voter and commission member protections will come from the state reserve and cost $ 1.6 million. euros.
In total, the Seimas elections will decouple 12 million euros this year, when in 2016 it cost the state much less to hold them: 7.5 million.
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