by (Spanish CNN) –– The legislative elections on July 23 will be the first to be held in the middle of the summer season, a time when many Spaniards choose to take a well-deserved rest and go on a trip.
Faced with this scenario, some analysts believe that the number of postal voting requests could skyrocket, since many people would not be at their usual address. If this is your case, we will tell you here how you can request to vote by mail.
Of course, remember that if you apply to vote by mail and the application is accepted, you will no longer be able to vote in person.
Process and deadlines
Postal voting can be requested until July 13, both in person at any of the 2,389 post offices in Spain and electronically on its official website. In both processes it will be necessary to present the identity card at the time of the request, although in the case of a request through the web it will be necessary to authenticate the identity with the electronic ID or a valid digital certificate.
To start the process, it will be essential to complete the request form that is provided in the physical offices or on the web and indicate the postal address to which you want the electoral documentation sent. Once the form has been completed and delivered, the Electoral Census Office will proceed to send the necessary documentation to vote to the address indicated from July 3.
When the documentation arrives, you must choose the ballot for the party you wish to vote for – or choose none if you wish to cast a blank ballot – and include it with the census registration certificate inside the envelope on which the address of the polling station.
Envelopes must be delivered to any post office until July 19.
I am temporarily abroad: how can I ask to vote?
In the event of a temporary stay outside Spain until the day of the general elections, whether for holidays, work or other reasons, you must inform the Spanish consulate or embassy in that country.
First of all, you must be registered in the consular registration register as a “non-resident” in the country where you are. Next, you must complete the postal voting request form, which is provided at consular offices or Spanish embassies, and which can also be downloaded from the websites of the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It should be noted that both procedures, both the registration as a “non-resident”, as well as the request for a postal vote, can be carried out in the same act. However, the margin to present the form in person at the consulate or embassy ends on June 24.
The Electoral Census Bureau will begin sending election materials to the addresses indicated in the applications starting July 3, and room will be given to vote by certified mail until July 19.
For the votes sent to be valid, the authorities indicate that it will be essential that the envelope bear a postmark or other official inscription from a post office in the corresponding State certifying that it was sent in the allotted time.
