Spanish voters who reside permanently abroad (CERA) may exercise their right to vote in the consulates and consular offices until the same day of the 21D elections. The Central Electoral Board has likewise extended the initial deadline of 16 December to 20 December for people voting by post from abroad. The provincial electoral boards will have to receive all the envelopes containing the ballot papers by 8.00 am on Sunday, 24 December.
The Central Electoral Board has agreed to extend the voting date to 20 and 21 December for Spanish voters who reside permanently abroad (CERA) with the purpose of facilitating these citizens’ voting rights as much as possible. Bearing in mind the difficulties of processing postal votes in previous elections, the political platform Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) has requested the Central Electoral Board to extend the deadline that initially ended on 19 December.
As a result, citizens may cast their vote in the ballot boxes provided in consulates and consular offices until the same day of the elections of 21D. Votes must be cast no later than 8.00 pm on 21 December, coinciding with the time the polling stations close in mainland Spain.
The Central Electoral Board has also extended the deadline for casting votes from abroad. The initial date of 16 December has been changed to Wednesday, 20 December. This implies that the postal votes sent by consular offices must be considered valid by the provincial electoral commissions until the day before the elections.
These extensions of the voting rights of Spanish voters who reside abroad means that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation will be obliged to implement all the necessary measures to ensure that the envelopes containing the electors’ votes have been received by Correos (Spanish Postal Services) before 1.00 pm on Saturday 23 December. The aim is to deliver the ballot envelopes to the respective provincial electoral commissions before 8.00 am on Sunday, 24 December to enable them to count the votes.
