Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Postal voting opens for November general election
In less than two months, more than two million Canary Islanders will be able to head to the polls to elect their next representatives in the Congress and the Senate. However, those who find themselves outside the jurisdiction in which they are entitled to exercise this right — at least 212,000 people — or who are unable to get to their polling station will have to rely on postal voting.
The snap election announced by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, following his parliamentary defeat has set the date of the general election for 29 November. Under Organic Law 5/1985 of 19 June on the General Electoral System, a postal vote can be requested from the moment the election is called until the tenth day before the vote. That means 19 November will be the final day to apply for a postal vote, while the deadline for depositing it at a Post Office will run until 26 November.
How to apply for a postal vote
Interested voters must apply to the relevant Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office for their certificate of registration on the electoral roll. The application can be made at any Post Office, where it will be necessary to present the original physical DNI identity document. A photocopy of the identity document will not be accepted. It is also possible to apply online through the Post Office website using an electronic DNI or a digital certificate.
Once the application has been submitted and accepted by the Electoral Census Office, the voter will no longer be able to vote in person at the polling station on election day.
Applications on behalf of another person
In certain cases, yes. If a voter is unable to attend a Post Office in person because of illness or incapacity, another person may carry out the procedure on their behalf. This will require a notarial or consular authorisation. The authorisation is individual and may cover only one voter, so a single authorised person cannot apply for a postal vote on behalf of several voters.
Voting documents and delivery deadlines
Voters who have applied for a postal vote will receive the documentation needed to vote at their home address between 9 and 22 November. Once all the documentation has been received, the voter may hand in their vote at any Post Office until 26 November. Identification will be mandatory when depositing it. This requirement was introduced in 2023 following suspicions of fraud related to postal voting in Melilla and other municipalities during the regional and municipal elections of 28 May.
The Post Office will keep all correspondence addressed to the polling stations until the day of the vote and will transport it to the polling stations at 9.00am. The law also provides for the Post Office to hand over to the polling stations any envelopes that may be received during the voting day itself, up until 8.00pm. Any items arriving after that time will be forwarded to the relevant Area Electoral Board. In addition, the Post Office will keep a record of all documentation received, which may be consulted by the Electoral Boards.
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