Editing Elections in Lithuania (section)

== Voting process ==

=== Voters and voter lists ===

The minimum voting age in Lithuania is 18. Voting in elections for the parliament and the president, as well as participation in referendums is open to citizens of Lithuania.<ref name="SeimasLaw" /><ref name="PresidentLaw" /><ref name="ReferendumLaw" /> Voting in elections to the European Parliament is open to citizens of Lithuania, as well as citizens of other EU countries permanently residing in Lithuania, as long as they only vote in one country.<ref name="EuropeanLaw" /> Voting in local elections is limited to permanent residents of the respective municipalities, regardless of citizenship. Individuals who have been declared mentally incompetent by court are barred from voting.<ref name="MunicipalLaw" />

Voter lists or electoral rolls are compiled before each vote by the Central Electoral Commission. The electoral rolls should include every person eligible to vote, and include information about the person necessary to establish eligibility, such as name, surname, personal number, date of birth, passport or other ID number, as well as place of residence. The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania then forms the basis for electoral rolls of single-member constituencies and polling districts, that contain information necessary for individuals to vote. Electoral rolls are not public but voters may access information related to themselves in the electoral roll.

Before the election, a poll card is sent to each voter, representing an invitation to vote. It may also be accessed and printed online.

Citizens of Lithuania who do not reside in Lithuania but are entitled to vote, for example in the elections for the parliament, are entered in electoral rolls for the constituency in the territory where the parliament is situated. Voters who are aboard a ship and will not be able to return to Lithuania to vote, are entered on the electoral roll of the polling district on whose electoral roll the ship’s crew is entered. Voters who are in a penal institution and have not declared a place of residence, are entered on the electoral roll of the polling district where the penal institution is situated.

=== Candidates ===

The eligibility criteria for candidates varies depending on the election type and is covered more thoroughly above.

Parties and [[Public election committee (Lithuania)|public election committees]] file the application and place the election deposits for their candidates in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies with the Central Electoral Commission, including providing all necessary additional information, such as tax returns. Individual candidates who nominate themselves file the application and place the deposits with the electoral commission of the constituency where they stand for election. The names of candidates and party lists are announced 30 days before the election.

Upon announcement, the candidates in constituencies have equal rights to speak at voters' meetings or any other meetings, gatherings, conferences as well as through the state mass media, and to announce their respective election programmes. In addition, a candidate for the parliament gains immunity and may not be arrested without the consent of the Central Electoral Commission.

=== Election campaigns ===

Candidates have a right to campaign in fair manner and can be granted the right to use the [[Lithuanian National Radio and Television]] free of charge. The Central Electoral Commission distributes the time of the broadcasts in such a manner that the principle of equality is preserved. Debates on radio and television are financed by the state. Election programmes are published by the Central Electoral Commission for country-wide parties and candidates and the electoral committee of that constituency or municipality for local candidates.
 
Political advertising is prohibited on the buildings of state administration, law-enforcement and other state and municipal institutions and establishments, vehicles belonging to state or municipal enterprises, motorways, streets and along them if it might interfere with traffic safety, sculptures and monuments. Outdoor advertising is prohibited within 50 meters around the building which houses a polling station.

It is prohibited for candidates to take advantage of his or her official position in state or municipal institutions, establishments or organizations, as well as in the state or municipal mass media for any form of election campaign.

Any campaigning is prohibited 30 hours before the beginning of an election and on the election day until the closing of the polls, with the exception of permanent visual election campaign material, provided that it was displayed at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the election.

Financing of political campaigns of elections is regulated by the Law on Financing of Political Parties and Political Campaigns.

=== Organization ===

Elections are organized and supervised by
# the Central Electoral Commission;
# constituency or municipal electoral committees; and
# polling district committees.

Central Electoral Commission has the overall responsibility for organizing elections and referendums. Central Electoral Commission is also, together with other institutions, responsible for monitoring the financing of political parties and campaigns.<ref name="ataskaita">{{cite web |url=http://www.vrk.lt/documents/10180/432545/2007_2011vrkpirmininkoataskaitaseimui.pdf |title=Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausiosios Rinkimų Komisijos Pirmininko 2011 metų ataskaita
|language=lt |trans-title=2011 annual report by the head of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania |publisher=Central Electoral Commission |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

The constituency or municipal electoral committees supervise local implementation of the elections and their compliance with law, form polling district committees, control expenditure of the polling district committees, register election observers, monitor voting by post, voting at health care institutions, military units, penal institutions, as well as organize early voting. Constituency or municipal electoral committees also monitor political advertising. The polling district committees provide conditions for voters to familiarize themselves with electoral lists, deliver poll cards to voters, investigate complaints about the errors made in electoral rolls, monitor postal voting, organize voting at home, prepare polling stations, organize voting on the election day, count votes and consider complaints from voters and observers. Members of the committees are remunerated for their work by the state.

During nationwide elections, around 16,000 people work in electoral commissions.
 
=== Voting location and timing ===

The polls are held on the election day from 7:00&nbsp;a.m. until 8:00&nbsp;p.m. in the place designated by the electoral committee of the polling district. With few exceptions, voters cast their ballot in their registered polling district. 

At the entrance to the polling station, voters present their passports or other identity documents to an electoral committee member of the polling district. It is noted in the electronic electoral roll, electronically, where possible, that a voter has arrived to vote. The voter is handed an arrival card that allows to apply for a ballot. Voting takes place in voting booths, in secret, with the votes submitted to the ballot boxes.

Postal voting is open to voters who are in healthcare institutions, social care or guardianship because of their health condition or age, who perform mandatory military service, who perform active military service, civil service or work under contract in international military operations abroad, or who are in detention facilities. Postal voting is possible at specific post offices on a last Wednesday, Thursday or Friday before an election day.

Voting at home is available upon request to disabled voters, voters with temporary working incapacity, voters aged 70 and over if because of the health condition they are unable to come to a polling district to vote on an election day. Voters performing mandatory military service are entitled to vote in the military units where they serve. Voters who serve arrest or imprisonment sentence are entitled to vote in they institution they serve a sentence in.

Voting is available, except for municipal elections, in diplomatic missions, consular posts and on ships of the Republic of Lithuania.

Early voting takes place from 8 am to 8 pm on the Wednesday and Thursday preceding an election day for voters who are unable to vote on the election day. Voting takes place in the building where the mayor of the municipality in question works.

=== Counting votes and appeals ===

Before the end of voting, appeals against the decisions of polling district committees may be filed with the constituency or municipal electoral committee. Decisions of municipal electoral committees may be appealed to the Central Electoral Commission. Decisions of the Central Electoral Commission may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania. Appeals must be considered within 48 hours. The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall become effective from its pronouncement.

The votes are counted by the polling district electoral committees. Vote tallies are submitted to constituency or municipal electoral committee, which checks the documents and seals for completeness and consistency, considers outstanding complaints and provides the information to the Central Electoral Commission.

The election observers and representatives of the media may participate in the counting of votes in polling districts and constituencies or municipalities, and also in the establishment of election results. Observers shall have the right to make remarks and claims to the electoral committees concerning violations of laws, but may not hinder the work of electoral committees. Observers can make written protests to the polling district committee, which is appended to the vote counting record of the polling district and delivered to the constituency electoral committee.

Preliminary election results are proclaimed by the Central Electoral Commission on the Internet.

Parties, candidates and their representatives, and election observers may appeal against the decisions of polling district electoral committees concerning the drawing up of vote counting records to the constituency electoral committee within 24 hours of their drawing up. These complaints must be investigated no later than within 24 hours. The decisions of the constituency electoral committee concerning vote counting records may be appealed to the Central Electoral Commission within 72 hours following their drawing up and must be considered before the official announcement of election results. In case of elections to the Seimas, Parties and candidates may appeal the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission within 24 hours of the official announcement of the election results, to the Parliament or the President.<ref name="SeimasLaw" /> In such cases, the Seimas or President shall, within 48 hours, appeal to the Constitutional Court with the inquiry concerning the violation of election laws. In case of municipal elections, Parties and candidates may appeal the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission within 5 days of the decision, to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, which must consider the case within 5 days.<ref name="MunicipalLaw" /> In case of presidential elections, appeals against the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission must be filed, within two days of the decision, to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, which must consider it within 48 hours.<ref name="PresidentLaw" />

While investigating complaints, constituency electoral committees or Central Electoral Commission may recount ballot papers, and, in the event of discrepancies, draw up an additional vote counting record of the polling district and attach it to the vote counting record of the polling district.

The Central Electoral Commission may declare the election results in a municipality or constituency null and void if it has established that severe violations have occurred and reliable results cannot be determined.

The Central Electoral Commission shall proclaim the final election results on its website no later than within 7 days following the election and any run-off voting.

The Seimas and the President may appeal to the Constitutional Court with the inquiry whether election laws for elections to the Seimas or the President have been violated.<ref name="SeimasLaw" /><ref name="PresidentLaw" /> The Constitutional Court shall investigate and evaluate the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission within 72 hours. The Seimas may then declare the elections invalid or establish real election results if records are available.

=== Monitoring and assessment ===

Elections in Lithuania have been assessed as generally free and fair by domestic and international monitors, although voting irregularities and allegations of vote-buying have occurred,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2014/lithuania#.VbdwrKP8Lcs |title=Nations in Transit 2014: Lithuania  |publisher=Freedom House |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> although [[OSCE]] highlight the overly broad interpretation of a definition of vote-buying as a possible explanation of the scale of allegations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/98586?download=true |title=Parliamentary Elections 14 October 2012 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report |publisher=OSCE |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

Parties and candidates have the right to appoint election observers to each polling district. Observers have the right to observe elections, monitor voting and demand adherence to the election laws. 15-20 thousand observers observe the elections. A citizen initiative "white gloves" (Lithuanian: "baltosios pirštinės") was formed after the allegations of vote-buying in the 2012 election to Seimas and provide additional monitoring and reporting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baltosiospirstines.lt/rinkimu_stebejimo_ataskaita_2015.pdf |title=Rinkimų stebėjimo ataskaita 2015 gegužė |language=lt |trans-title=Election monitoring report 2015 May |publisher=Baltosios pirštinės |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>