With each new election, such as that of the next sunday july 23The electoral process starts. If you want to vote, you should consult the electoral roll to verify that your data appears correctly. And to “guarantee the transparency and objectivity of the electoral process”, in Spain we have the Electoral Administration. It’s formed by Electoral Boards: central, provincial, area, autonomous community and by polling stations. And this is where the citizens come in: some of them you must be at a polling station.
It is an obligation as a citizen. In the same way that you have the right to vote, you have the obligation to be at a polling station if you are summoned to do so. Your role is important. “The polling station is responsible for presiding over the act of voting, controlling its development and counting the votes.” Something that will take you pretty much all day.
The polling station “is made up of a president or president and two members.” Are chosen by lottery among the people registered in an electoral section. Each section or constituency is divided into electoral sections made up of a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 2,000 voters. And you will only be released if you are over 70 years old, if you are a minor or if you do not know how to read and write. For the rest, the president or president must have a Bachelor’s degree or a second degree Vocational Training degree or, secondarily, a School Graduate or equivalent.
The draw for the polling stations
He polling station lottery for the July 23 elections, the between June 22 and 28. And until July 1 it is possible to notify the designations. That is until July 1 you will not know at all if you are going to be at a polling station. You will receive a written notification, as well as the Instruction Manual for Members of the Polling Stations.
In exchange for being at a polling station:
- You will perceive a diet.
- You will have the right to a 5-hour workday reduction the next day.
- You will be protected by Social Security if something happens to you during your participation at the table.
Otherwise, you are bound to be part of a polling station if your name appears in the draw. If you do not go to your polling station, you can be subject to a “prison sentence of 3 months to a year or a fine of 6 to 24 months.”
The municipalities are responsible for carrying out the raffle and informing citizens if they should be at a polling station next July 23. So depending on where you live, you will have to check with your Town Hall to find out if you are on the list.
Have I had to be at a table?
Once the draw is made, which as we have seen, is between June 22 and 28 according to each City Hall, The result of the draw will be published in the BOE of each province. So the fastest way to find out if you have had to be at a polling station is to search the internet for the BOE of your province and look at the publications of the days following the draw. There you will see the names of the presidents, members and substitutes.
This is the fastest way. The official way is the dreaded letter you will receive at your home from the hands of a postman or a police officer. They will give it to you by hand. And if you are not present, you will receive a notice so that you can go for that letter at a Post Office.
In addition to the BOE of each province and the official notification, some municipalities are publishing on their official pages the lists of chosen people. The Chain Beingfor example, has compiled this list of municipalities with their respective town hall link:
For these General Elections, there are more than 181,000 incumbents and more than 362,000 substitutes. That they must appear on July 23 at the 22,916 polling stations. They have a total of 60,587 polling stations. For each table, nine people are summoned: the three holders (president and two members) and two alternates per person.