One of the ways to participate in the general elections on July 23 is voting from abroad. As in the latest municipal and regional elections, it will no longer be necessary to previously request to be able to vote, after the electoral law was reformed last year and the requested vote disappeared from it. Next, we explain how voting from abroad works.
Citizens residing permanently abroad must be registered in the Consular Registration Register and in the census of Absent Resident Voters (CERA). The Electoral Census Office will automatically send the electoral documentation between June 17 and 23 to the address of each registered person. This shipment includes voting envelopes, an instruction manual, the list of centers authorized to vote, an envelope to address to the consulate or embassy and another to the Central Electoral Board and two certificates proving the foreigner’s registration in the census.
It will be the second time that voting from abroad will not work by requesting a vote. In the May 28 elections, the first time the new model was put into practice, there was no considerable reduction in abstention, rather it would only have increased a little more than two points in some territories, but it continued to be a derisory percentage. (5-6% participation, according to the first unofficial data).
The Office will also send, between June 28 and July 2, the official ballots of the candidacies, once they have been validated and proclaimed. Voting ballots can also be downloaded electronically.
Once they have all the documentation, Spaniards residing abroad will have two options to vote: by mail or in person at the embassy, ​​consulate or other authorized center.
If they wish to do so by correspondence, voters must send an envelope to the consulate or embassy containing, first of all, the certificate of registration in the census. Inside the main envelope there must be another envelope addressed to the Provincial Electoral Board, which includes the voting envelope with the ballot, the other registration certificate signed with the ID or passport number, and a photocopy of the ID or passport. The deadline to send it by certified mail ends on July 18.
To vote in person, voters must go to the consulate, embassy or other centers authorized to vote, between July 15 and 20. Before the consular official, the voter will have to prove her identity and deliver a first certificate of registration in the census. Next, after stamping the consular seal, he will insert the envelope addressed to the Provincial Electoral Board, with the ballot and the vote, the other registration certificate signed with the ID or passport number, and the photocopy of the ID, passport or nationality certificate.
Those who are temporarily abroad (ERTA), to vote, must request it in advance. They will have to fill out and deliver a form in person at the consulate or embassy. If they are not yet registered, at the same time they will have to register in the Consular Registration Register as non-residents. The term to carry out both procedures ends on June 24. From July 27 to July 3, applicants will receive electoral documentation.
They will be able to vote until July 20 by sending an envelope by certified mail to their polling station. This must contain a census certificate and the voting envelope or envelopes.
