Once recovered from the hangover of the , voters who want to exercise their right to vote should -if they have not already done so- think about the next appointment with the polls: on May 26 we have municipal elections, regional elections in up to twelve communities, in addition to Ceuta and Melilla, and European. This May 16 is the last day to request a vote by mail. |
Voters who anticipate that on the date of the vote they will not be in the locality where they are entitled to exercise their right to vote, or who cannot appear in person, may cast their vote by mail, upon request to the Provincial Delegation of the Census Office. Electoral. To exercise that right, they will have to mark a series of dates on the calendar so that the deadline is not missed. Until when can the vote by mail be requested for municipal, regional and European elections?
It must be taken into account that in addition to the municipal ones, up to twelve communities renew their parliaments: Aragón, Asturas, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Comunidad de Madrid, Extremadura, Baleares, La Rioja, Navarra and Murcia, as well as the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla hold elections on 26-M.
How long does it take for mail-in voting to arrive?
– If you are a resident in Spain
According to the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG), covers from the date of publication of the call for elections, in the case of municipal, regional and European Parliament elections can be requested from April 2 until the tenth day prior to the vote, that is, until May 16.
Until May 16, then, there will be time to request a vote by mail. However, there will be time until May 19 for the corresponding Electoral Census Office to send the voter who has previously requested it, the necessary documentation to vote by mail.
And the citizen who has previously requested the vote by mail within the established periods (from May 2 to 16) will have time until 2:00 p.m. on May 24 to send their vote, once all the documentation has been received at home. This last date has been extended by two days, from the initially planned May 22 to the 24.
There are certain circumstances on some occasions that lead the Central Electoral Board (JEC) to extend this last period by one or more days. Without going any further, it happened a couple of weeks ago on the occasion of the general elections. The term, which ended on April 24, was extended until April 26 (two days before the elections) because many citizens were slow to receive the necessary documentation to be able to exercise their right to vote. The Easter holiday did not help too much to meet the deadlines.
– If you are temporarily abroad
For those Spaniards who have the right to vote and are temporarily abroad, the deadlines change slightly.
The application for voting by mail could be made from April 2 to April 27. The Corresponding Electoral Census Office had until May 6 to send the voter the documentation for voting by mail or extend it until May 14 for resources in progress against the proclamation of candidacies.
Once the documentation is received, the voter temporarily abroad will have until May 22 to send his vote.
– If you live abroad
In this case, the application for voting by mail and its delivery, as stated in the must have been made no later than April 27. You will have until May 6 (or May 14 if there is a challenge to candidacies) to receive the necessary documentation. And you can exercise your vote by mail (until May 21) or in person at the Consular Office of Spain abroad where you are registered on May 22, 23 and 24.
How to apply to vote by mail for May 26
– If you are a resident in Spain
1) From April 2 to May 16: The first step will be to go to the Post Office to request the vote. The voter will have to fill in the official application form that is in the Post Office itself in which he must indicate the address where he wants the documentation to be sent to him in order to exercise his right. Keep in mind that it is a free procedure. The request must be made in person.
The Post Office official in charge of receiving it will require the interested party to show their DNI (the receipt of the DNI in process is not useful since the photograph does not appear), passport, driver’s license, residence card in the case of citizens of the European Union who possess it, or foreign identity card, in the case of nationals of countries with which Spain has signed a reciprocity treaty for the recognition of the right to vote in local elections. In no case will a photocopy of the document be accepted for these purposes.
It must be taken into account that in case of illness or incapacity that prevents the personal formulation of the request, its existence must be accredited by means of an official and free medical certificate. In this case, it may be carried out on behalf of the voter by another person authorized by a notary or consular document. The same person may not represent more than one voter. The Electoral Board will verify, in each case, the concurrence of the circumstances referred to in this section.
two) From May 6 to 19: Once the documentation has been received, the Correos services will send all the documentation presented to them to the corresponding Electoral Census Office within a period of three days. The Provincial Delegation of the corresponding Electoral Census Office will send the voter by certified mail the necessary documentation so that he can cast his vote. The delivery of this documentation will always be made personally to the interested party and at the address indicated in the application (after two unsuccessful delivery attempts at the address, a notice of arrival will be left for collection at the corresponding post office).
3) From May 6 to 24: Once the documentation has been received, the voter will present the official model envelope addressed to the polling station, containing the certificate of registration in the electoral roll and the voting certificate in which the ballot will be included, at any post office in Spain. The shipment will be processed as certified and urgent mail, free of charge.
– Voting by mail of Spanish voters who are temporarily abroad (ERTA)
1) From April 2 to 27: Voters who are temporarily outside the national territory once the electoral process has been called and who plan to remain in this situation until the day of the vote, must request the necessary documentation from abroad to exercise their right to vote. The application may be collected at the Consular Offices or through the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation ().
The voter must be registered in the Consulate’s Registration Registry as a non-resident. If not, he may do so at the same time he picks up the aforementioned request or when he goes to deliver it. The completed application must be presented, in person, at the Consular Offices or Consular Sections of the Embassies, which will proceed to send it to the Provincial Delegation of the corresponding Electoral Census Office.
2) Until May 6 or 14: The Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office will send the voter to the address abroad indicated in the application, by certified mail, the necessary documentation so that he can cast his vote.
3) Until May 22: Once the documentation has been received, the voters must send their vote to the polling station, by certified and urgent mail.
– Vote by mail of Spanish voters residing abroad (CERA)
1) No later than April 27: To vote from abroad it is necessary to request the requested vote, completing and sending, no later than April 27, to the Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office that corresponds to your municipality of registration for electoral purposes in Spain, an official application form that is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can also pick up this form at the Consular Offices of Spain abroad.
The Electoral Census Office will only automatically send the form to request the vote to the voters included in the CERA on February 1, 2019.
To send the request to the Provincial Delegation, the voter in this case can choose one of these two formulas:
* Online with a Digital Certificate, Cl@ve, or with the electronic processing key (CTT) received, where appropriate, ex officio by post at the address of your registration together with the electoral documentation request form. You must access the CERA vote request process at the
* By post or fax, to the corresponding Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office in Spain. You can consult the postal address and fax of your Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office
In this case, and together with the vote request form, the resident abroad must attach a photocopy of the passport or DNI, issued by the Spanish authorities or, failing that, a certificate of nationality or registration in the Consular Registration Registry. issued free of charge by the Consular Office of Spain in the country of residence.
2) Until May 6 or 14: The Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office in Spain will send you the address of your electoral registration abroad (no later than May 6, or May 14 if there is a contesting candidacies), the electoral documentation together with an information sheet, which you will receive through the postal services of your country of residence.
3) Until May 21 or 24: Once the electoral documentation has been received, the voter has several options to finish exercising their right to vote, either by mail, or by sending the corresponding envelope by certified mail to the Consular Office of Spain in the abroad in which you are registered (with the content indicated in the information sheet), no later than May 21. Or, by voting in the ballot box, personally depositing the envelope addressed to the corresponding Provincial Electoral Board (with the content indicated in the information sheet) at the Consular Office of Spain abroad where you are registered on the 22nd, May 23 and 24.
– And if you ask for a postal vote, can you vote at the table?
If you have already started the procedures to request a vote by mail, you will no longer be able to go to your polling station to cast your votes in the one that corresponds to you.
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