Automatic ballot scanners handed over for June municipal elections

The Central Election Commission (CVK) has handed over 1,078 scanners for scanning ballot papers to Latvian municipalities, CVK said on 16 April.

The CVK purchased a total of 1,098 scanners at a cost of EUR 373,596.70 (VAT included), of which 1078 scanners are being handed over to 42 Latvian municipalities free of charge.

This is to ensure automatic vote counting in future elections as well as referendums. This means that the same type of ballot paper will be used for the 7 June municipal elections, the 2026 parliamentary elections and the 2029 European Parliament elections. A scanner will be provided for each polling station, and the equipment purchased will be handed over to the municipalities.

“By providing municipalities with the new scanners, a lot of work has been done to make the counting of votes as automatic as possible. This will make the work of polling station staff easier and will also ensure transparency in the counting of votes. It will also allow for the full implementation of the new ballot papers, which will also reach voters from the 2025 municipal elections,” stressed Kristīne Saulīte, Chair of the CVK.