When general elections were called for next July 23, many citizens had already planned their vacations and getaways and the shadow of abstention seemed to be approaching. The alternative is to vote by mail whose number of applications, advanced by Cadena Ser, today reaches 2,361,982, a record number.
To contextualize, the municipal elections were held on March 28, in which 984,108 citizens requested to vote by mail. The figure for the 23-J general elections exceeds, to this day, double the requests issued in the previous elections.
The 2,361,982 people who have claimed to vote by mail represent 6.3% of the total census, a figure never seen in a general election in Spain. The increase compared to the last general elections -November 2019- is more than 1,364,452 applications, which represents a difference of 136%.
Until now, the highest numbers of applications to vote by mail in Spain coincided with the pandemic. In the regional elections in the Basque Country, 7.2% of the voters requested this method of voting, while 5.25% did so in Catalonia.
One day from the deadline to request early voting, more than half a million votes have already been distributed, so most of the applications still remain to be distributed.
As confirmed by Correos to Newtral.es, the documentation is being delivered with “total normality” despite the exponential increase in requests.
It should be remembered that those citizens who have requested to vote by mail will not be able to vote in person on 23-J, so they cannot change their mind. As reported by the Government, until July 20 it can be delivered by mail to the chosen place.
