Voting by mail and proxy in the upcoming municipal elections: How to register for a postal vote in Spain

This is how to request to vote by mail and the deadline for the Spanish municipal elections 2023

Important note: As a result of BREXIT only British ex-pats who registered to vote in the December 2022 – January 2023 registration period will be eligible to vote, even if you have voted in previous elections.

To request to vote by mail in Spain’s local municipal elections, scheduled for May 28, 2023, just use the following steps, ensuring that you meet the series of requirements and conditions:

1. As a first step you have to collect the application form at a Correos Office (which will be available from the same day the elections are called, April 4). Be aware that if you request to vote by mail you will no longer be able to vote in person. When you have these forms you must indicate on them the postal address to which you want the electoral documentation to be sent (it can be your place of work and even a post office box). The voter must personally fill out the application form for voting by mail and prove their identity with an original identification document (DNI, TIE, Driver's Licence or Passport), provided that the document contains a photograph of the voter and even if it has expired. The entire process, both the request and the subsequent dispatching of the vote, is free of charge.
2. Once this has arrived at the Electoral Census Office you will be sent the following documentation to the address you have indicated, which can only be received by the person requesting it. If this is not the case a notice will be left giving collection instructions:
   1. One ballot list from each of the political parties that are represented in each of the requested processes (in this case municipal).
   2. A voting envelope for each process.
   3. The certificate of registration in the census.
   4. An envelope in which the information of your polling station will be written.
   5. An explanation sheet.
3. With all this documentation in your possession you must choose the ballot list for the corresponding election process, in this case the municipal and regional elections, and insert it into the voting envelope. This must be accompanied by the certificate of registration in the census in the envelope on which the address of your polling station is written. It is important to remember this because otherwise your vote could be considered invalid.
4. When all the above is completed the last step is to take the envelope to a Correos Office and send it by certified mail (free of charge) up to 4 days before the election day. It is important to remember that this last part can be carried out by anyone, not necessarily the voter, which makes it much easier for the adjudicators to verify votes in centres for the elderly, associations, etc. The Electoral Board has an agreement so that the Correos Office prioritises this mail.

In case of illness or disability, a proxy application must be accredited by means of official medical certification, which must be included together with the vote-by-mail application form and said request can be made on behalf of the voter by a person authorised by a notary or consular authority.

Each voter can only be represented by one authorised person and each authorised person can only represent one voter. The Correos Office employee who formalises the admission will collect all the documentation presented by the representative (notarial or consular power of attorney and official medical certificate) for submission to the Electoral Census Office together with the application.

Important dates for 2023 postal votes Spain

• Applications to vote by mail to be received by the Electoral Census Office between April 4 to May 18
• Documentation will be processed and dispatched by the Electoral Census Office vote by mail May 8 to 21
• Submission of votes by mail at Correos offices until May 24
• Election Day May 28