Home > 1.4.1 Exceptions > LITHUANIA - Law on Presidential Elections
 
 
 
Download file    
 
 
Article 57
 

Postal voting



1. Postal voting shall be made possible for voters who due to the health or age are in healthcare (except out-patient), social care institutions or carry out mandatory military service and, therefore, are unable to arrive at a polling station, or carry out active military service, civil service or work under employment contracts in international military operations abroad, or serve an arrest or custodial sentence, or are put in arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities). Postal voting shall be possible at special post offices during their working hours on the last Wednesday, Thursday or Friday prior to election day. In military units stationed abroad Postal voting shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure laid down by the CEC, on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence. Expenses related to Postal voting shall be covered from the state budget.



2. The head of the post office shall be responsible for the organisation of Postal voting. The PEC chairperson on the territory whereof a post office is situated shall be responsible for organising the supervision of the post office work related to Postal voting. The PEC chairperson shall, together with the chairpersons of other PECs who have been given such assignment by the MEC, organise the participation of PEC members during voting in special post offices. Commanders of military units stationed abroad shall be responsible for organising Postal voting in those military units.



3. The head of the post office, with the consent of the MEC, shall appoint postal workers for the issue and collection of ballots and postal ballot envelopes during Postal voting, who are entrusted with the work with election documents. If the MEC requests so, the head of the post office must remove a postal worker from the work with election documents. Postal workers who are authorised to issue and accept election documents shall be issued by the MEC certificates in the prescribed form. A postal worker who does not hold such a certificate shall not have the right to issue and accept election documents. An election Commission member, observer, who has produced her/his certificate to the postal worker, a voter, who has produced her/his passport or any other document proving her/his identity, shall have the right to write down her/his remark in the said certificate. The head of the post office shall immediately notify the MEC about this fact.



4. The places referred to in Articles 61, 62 and 63 of this Law must have some premises (place) where a voter can, without interference and in secrecy, mark the ballot and put it in the ballot envelope. In these cases the voting procedure may be observed by observers who have electoral observer certificates permitting them to observe an election in any polling station.



5. The postal worker shall issue election documents to a voter in accordance with the procedure established by the CEC. Together with ballots, voters shall be given postal ballot envelopes. A covering envelope shall be addressed by the postal worker to the PEC which is indicated in the person’s Voter card.



6. The voter shall vote in person and in secrecy:
1) mark the ballot;
2) put the marked ballot into the postal ballot envelope;
3) seal the postal ballot envelope;



7. The actions referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article shall be carried out by a voter personally. If because of the physical handicaps, an illness or any other reasons a voter is unable to carry out the said actions personally, at her/his request such actions shall be carried out by a person chosen by this voter. This person must mark the ballots in the voter’s presence in compliance with her/his instructions and preserve the secrecy of voting.



8. The voter or, at her/his request, the assisting person shall put the postal ballot envelope together with the voter's Voter card in the covering envelope. The sealed covering envelope (with the voter's Voter card, the postal ballot envelope and the ballot in it) shall be handed by the voter to a postal worker. Having received the covering envelope handed by the voter, the postal worker shall stamp it with a special mark and give the voter a receipt confirming the acceptance of this envelope.



9. Postal workers shall be prohibited from carrying out for a voter the actions referred to in paragraphs 6 and 8 of this Article, accepting from the voter the covering envelope which is not sealed, issuing voters with election documents in other places and to other people than those provided for in Articles 61, 62 and 63 of this Law. Voters shall be prohibited from taking out postal ballots, covering envelopes or handing them to other people.