Latvia passes landmark voting law

Non Latvian passport holders who hold electronic identification will be able to vote in this years government elections in a landmark ruling today

Citizens who do not have a passport but hold an ID card will be able to receive voter cards at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs from September 22 to October 3.

Those citizens who have a voter card and, by the Saeima elections, will also have acquired a passport, will have to present the passport together with the voter card.

The Central Election Commission estimates that the cost of one voter card could be  0.16 euros, thus, the total amount of the required funding could reach 4,800 euros.

The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs believes that by the election time, there will be more than 30,000 voters in Latvia who only have the ID card and have no passport.