Where Did My Vote Go? A Resident of Latgale Discovered Oddities in the Results of the Saeima Elections

A resident of the Rēzekne region named Madara noticed a discrepancy in the published results of the 15th Saeima elections. According to her, she consciously voted with an empty envelope, but after reviewing the official statistics from the polling station in Kaunata, she could not find confirmation that her vote was counted, reports the Bez Tabu program ([TV3](https://tv3.lv/beztabu/nejedzibas/kur-palika-mana-balss-rezeknes-puse-pazud-saeimas-velesanu-urna-ieslidinata-tuksa-aploksne/)). Madara learned about the location of the polling station in the building of the Kaunata association from the local publication Rēzeknes Novada Ziņas. That is where she went to vote. "Since I had no favorites, I voted by dropping in an empty envelope," Madara said. Despite having no preferences among political parties, after the elections, the woman continued to follow the formation of the new parliament and decided to check the voting results at her polling station. The numbers she saw surprised her: the number of valid voting envelopes completely matched the total number of votes cast for party lists. In Madara's opinion, this means that her empty envelope was not reflected in the voting results. Moreover, the woman claims that her mother-in-law voted in the same way. Thus, according to Madara, there should have been at least two envelopes without ballots at the polling station. To clarify the situation, the family sent a request to the Central Election Commission (CEC). However, the response received did not dispel the voter's doubts. The CEC reported that no incidents or violations were recorded at the polling station in Kaunata. The commission emphasized that the vote counting was conducted by experienced staff familiar with the established procedure. Additionally, as explained by the CEC, the verification of empty envelopes involves additional control: two people independently check them. At the same time, the commission does not rule out the possibility of human error, although there is no evidence to assert that it indeed occurred in Kaunata. Madara, for her part, admits that her empty envelope could have been mistakenly counted in favor of some party. However, the Central Election Commission categorically denies such a possibility. The story has led the woman to doubt the reliability of the vote counting system. At the same time, there is no evidence that her vote was intentionally or mistakenly attributed to any political force. Madara's main question remains unanswered: why do the published results from the polling station not reflect the empty envelopes that, according to her, she and her mother-in-law dropped into the ballot box?