This Sunday, April 21, elections to the Parliament of the Basque Country will be held, elections that, like all elections, would not be possible without the collaboration of the people who are part of the polling stations. The members of these tables – a president, two members and two substitutes, for each one – were chosen through a public draw.
The people who received this notification are required to appear at their respective polling stations on election day. However, they have a period of seven days to present a justified cause for absence before the Zone Electoral Board. Failure to attend without a proven reason may lead to criminal consequences.
If it were the case that the citizen chosen to be part of the electoral table in the 2024 Basque Country Elections cannot be located, a series of scenarios would open up that would depend on the corresponding electoral board. In general, the notification can be sent again, this fact could also be announced on the door of the town hall in small municipalities or the Electoral Board could consider moving on to the next person on the list of those elected.
There are personal reasons to be exempt from going to a polling station: being between 65 and 70 years old (those over 70 are excluded from the draw); disability situation; inability; pregnancy from six months and the corresponding period of maternity leave; confinement in penitentiary centers or psychiatric hospitals; having been part of a polling station at least three times in the last ten years; or be a victim of a crime, for which a prohibition on approaching the convicted or investigated person has been issued, and that he or she appears on the census of the same electoral college.
There are other personal causes that require an assessment by the Zone Electoral Board: injury, illness or illness; total permanent incapacity for a certain profession; risk situation during the first six months of pregnancy; anticipation of surgical intervention or relevant clinical tests on election day; belonging to confessions or religious communities in which the ideology is incompatible with participation in a polling station; or the change of habitual residence to a place located in another autonomous community.
Family reasons are also considered: mother status during the period of natural or artificial breastfeeding, until the baby is nine months old; the direct and continuous care of children under eight years of age or of people with disabilities or for reasons of age, accident or illness; relevant family events; or status as mother or father of minors under fourteen years of age, when it is demonstrated that the other parent cannot take care of the minor during election day.
Regarding professional causes, a series of circumstances are foreseen if these coincide with voting day: those who must provide their services to the Electoral Boards, the courts and public administrations that have electoral functions are exempt; those who must provide essential services; general information media directors and heads of information services; and professionals who must participate in public events.
Within a period of seven days, citizens can present their excuse in person at the offices of the corresponding Zone Electoral Board (list of Zone JE). As a novelty, it can now also be done online through an electoral administration application. For this procedure, the Cl@ve system is required. In both cases, those designated must identify themselves, fill out a request form and provide documentation that justifies the alleged cause.
The fines imposed, which are different amounts, depend on the economic capacity and the seriousness of the act. Whoever is designated and does not comply with any of the aforementioned assumptions has the obligation to attend or could incur a criminal offense. The electoral law (Loreg) in its article 143, within the section on electoral crimes, establishes a punishment for abandonment or non-compliance at polling stations with a prison sentence of three months to one year or a fine of six to twenty-four months. Both punishments generate criminal records, which are canceled after a period of time. The prohibition of the right to vote on a temporary basis is also contemplated.
It is the judge who decides the length of the sentence and the amounts. Although the law does not specify ranges, financial penalties of between 2,000 and 7,000 euros and prison sentences and withdrawal of the right to vote for a few months have recently been imposed. The criteria for setting such penalties are based on the seriousness of each act, which may vary, and the economic capacity of the accused (in this case, with regard to fines).
In any case, to commit the crime “recklessness is not enough, the will to non-compliance must be proven” as it is an intentional crime, as Cristina Nieto, from the Nieto Enríquez Abogados Penalistas law firm, explains in statements to La Vanguardia. This is because there have been cases in which it has been shown that the person was not aware that they were breaking the law and had not been properly informed.
In this context, the notification that citizens receive plays a fundamental role. “It is essential that the notification meets all legal requirements, that it is explained (to the citizen) what his obligations are and what the consequences of non-compliance are,” says Cristina Nieto. She adds that the appointee also has to know that he can provide an excuse. If these conditions are not met, the criminal procedure will have no route.
The lawyer exemplifies this with the case of a substitute at the polling station who did not go to her school at 8 a.m. because she understood that, as a substitute, it was enough to be reachable during the day. “We were able to prove that there was no desire not to go, but rather that she did want to go, but she had not been notified correctly,” explains Nieto, which is why the court opted for her acquittal.
On other occasions there have been sentences for substitutes, explains the lawyer from the Nieto Enríquez office, so it is not only the starters who can end up with a conviction. However, the role each person plays can influence the final penalty. “It may be that the judge interprets that, if one is president, (the case) is more serious,” she points out.
