Madrid (EFE).- The elections on May 28 will be the first in which there will no longer be “voto rogado” and the almost 2.3 million Spaniards residing abroad will be able to vote more quickly, so it is It is foreseeable that the total number of votes by mail from Spain, from abroad or even from the high seas, could exceed one million.
In the last general elections of 2019, the votes by mail totaled almost 997,000 and those of residents abroad reached 145,000.
But how do you vote by mail? When does the term open and what kind of voting procedures are there?
Voting by mail is free
Voting by mail is free but to do so you must be registered in the census of Spaniards residing in Spain (CER) or in the census of absent-resident Spaniards living abroad (CERA).
Until May 18, the period to request a vote by mail within Spain is open, which must be sent by certified mail no later than May 24.
Spaniards living abroad have a deadline between May 20 and 25 if they vote at the polls set up in their countries or until May 23 if they do so by certified mail.
Vote by mail from Spain
The application form can be downloaded on the website of the Ministry of the Interior and submitted electronically on the Post Office page or in person at an office.
Days later, the interested party receives an envelope at home with the ballot papers for each political party, the certificate of registration in the census, and another envelope with the address of the polling station where they should vote.
Once the ballot has been chosen and inserted in the corresponding envelope, it will be closed to put it in the other envelope addressed to the Electoral Table, where it will also include the certificate of registration in the census.
Once the vote has been sent, the voter can no longer vote in person.
Spaniards who permanently reside abroad can only vote, on this occasion, in the regional elections and not in the municipal ones.
The Electoral Census Office automatically sends you all the documentation and the first time the ballots can also be downloaded electronically.
If voting by certified mail, the resident abroad must insert the corresponding ballot into the voting envelope and include it in the other envelope addressed to the Provincial Electoral Board, in which they will also include one of the certificates of registration in the census, a photocopy of the passport or ID or a certification of nationality, among other documentation.
However, Spaniards living abroad can also cast their vote in the ballot boxes arranged in their embassies, consulates or authorized centers until May 25.
And if a Spaniard from CERA is in Spain at that time?
You may request to vote by mail in the same way as residents of national territory without this implying your withdrawal from CERA.
Students, embarked personnel or prisoners
Spaniards who are temporarily abroad -such as students- should have requested to vote by mail before April 29, but in order to do so they would have to be registered in the Consular Registration Register as non-residents.
Military personnel embarked on the high seas or deep sea fishermen will be able to vote through the radiotelegraphy service, email or even by fax.
The radiotelegraphy services of the ships are considered to be Post Office delegations and the commanders and captains or the officer to whom they expressly delegate are also authorized to receive the request.
Prison inmates are provided with all the documentation through a person from the Post Office who goes to the prison to help them exercise their right