Before the presidential elections – the surprise of a 92-year-old man from Kaunas: he did not know what to do

On May 12, presidential elections and a referendum on the preservation of citizenship will be held. A considerable number of Kaunas residents have already found information leaflets informing about this in their mailboxes.

But older people who would like to vote at home are missing one important piece of information.

Jonas Valmantas, who lives in Tvirtovė Alley, took comfort in the fact that he is 92 years old, the elderly man has difficulty walking and can only walk to the mailbox from his apartment on the fourth floor of the building anyway. There he found an information sheet about the elections.

It is too difficult for the old man to go to his 54th Algird polling station, which is located in the 35th building of Tvirtovė aleja.

J. Valmantas has always voted, so he would like to do so during the upcoming elections as well.

“Having found the leaflet in the mailbox and brought it back, I started looking at it. I know that those who cannot go to their polling stations to vote can do so at home. However, I did not find any phone number in the information sheet, which I could use to call and invite the members of the election commission,” the man was surprised.

Kaunietis only found a note that all additional information is provided on the website of the Central Election Commission (CEC). However, he does not use the computer.

“Why is that? I think that a lot of older people will face the same situation”, J. Valmantas thought.

CEC spokesperson Indrė Ramanavičienė said that this year voters should receive two informational messages at once. One of them is dedicated to the elections of the President of the Republic and the referendum on the preservation of citizenship, the other to the elections to the European Parliament.

“Notices about when and where to come to vote are dropped into voters’ mailboxes. They are delivered in person only to voters who are eligible to vote at home. This is done by the members of the election commission. They ask the voter whether he wishes to use the right to vote at home, and upon receiving a positive answer, he is added to the list of those voting at home,” explained I. Ramanavičienė.

It happens that the voter does not open the door for various reasons: some people are afraid to open the door to strangers, others are away, others have difficulty hearing or walking.

“The message is then dropped into the mailbox. At the same time, voters should also receive a publication issued by the CEC with basic information about the elections and candidates’ programs. It also contains a phone number that can be called,” explained the representative of the CEC.

Viktorija Skridailaitė-Gribėnienė, the chairman of the Algird electoral district, explained that the publications were received by a small number of people, they were not enough for some residents, but they will be carried additionally.

Will answer questions

Voters can get the most important information about the elections by calling the short phone number 1855.

It is possible to find out whether the voter is included in the voter lists, to register to vote at home, by phone. Also, in which polling station to vote, is the polling station adapted for disabled voters.

You can ask where and when to vote in advance, how to vote if you are sick.