Latvia
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General Right to Vote
Constitution:
(1922, updated 1997)
• Section 2, subsection 8 states: "All Latvian citizens, who enjoy all rights and who on the election day have reached 18 years of age, shall be entitled to vote."
• Section 2, subsection 9 states: "Any Latvian citizen…may be elected to the Saeima."

Exclusion Based on Mental Disability
Electoral Law:
(1998: Saeima Election Law)
• Article 5 states: "Persons are not to be included in the candidate lists and are not eligible to the Saeima if they (1) have been legally recognized as incapacitated…(4) have committed a criminal offence in an irresponsible state or have fallen mentally ill after committing a crime and are incapable of taking a conscious action or controlling it and as a result have been subjected to compulsory treatment or their case has been dismissed without applying such a coercive measure…"

Exclusion Based on Physical Disability
Electoral Law:
(1998: Saeima Election Law)
• Article 5 states: "Persons are not to be included in the candidate lists and are not eligible to the Saeima if they…(7) have not mastered the state language to the highest (third) proficiency level."

Voter Assistance by Other Citizens
Electoral Law:
(1998: Saeima Election Law)
• Article 25 states: "If a physical handicap prevents an elector from voting or signing in the voters' list, a member of his/her family or some other trustworthy person shall make notes in the ballot paper in his/her presence according to word-of-mouth instructions given by the voter. A special entry to this effect shall be made in the voters' list. A member of the relevant election commission may not act as such a trustworthy person."
Poll Worker Manuals:
Instructions on the Work of Polling during the Saeima Elections Station Commissions (1998)
• If a person is physically incapacitated in such a way as to prevent him from voting independently, he may receive assistance in marking his ballot from a companion. This fact must be marked in the list of voters p 2

Off-Site Voting Alternatives
Electoral Law:
(1998: Saeima Election Law)
• Article 24 paragraph (1) states: "If any elector is unable to arrive at the polling station for health reasons, a written request may be filed with the polling station commission by this elector or by an authorized person and registered in a special journal; two members of the commission are authorized to organize the voting at the place where the elector is placed, ensuring voting by secret ballot. Specially authorized observers have the right to supervise such voting."
• Article 24 paragraph (2) states: "Names of the electors qualified for absentee voting as provided in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be entered in a separate voters' list and the sealed ballot envelopes shall be inserted into a separate sealed ballot box."