Citizens who are registered in the Census of Spaniards Resident Abroad (CERA) will be able to vote in the municipal and regional elections until the middle of next week. If they are going to do it by post, the term ends on Tuesday, May 23, while if they vote in person at the embassy they can do so between this Saturday the 20th and Thursday the 25th.
As a novelty in this 2023, it has no longer been necessary to request the vote in advance, as had always happened, to receive all the documentation. The Electoral Census Office sent it ex officio between April 22 and 28 to the address of each person registered in the Absentee Resident Voter Census and in the Consular Registration Register. This shipment included 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.
Subsequently, with the officially proclaimed candidacies, the voters received the ballot papers for all the candidacies during the first week of May. Now with all the documentation and information in their possession, residents abroad can vote.
If they decide to send it by mail, they have until next Tuesday the 23rd. In this case, voters must send an envelope to the consulate or embassy that contains, first of all, the certificate of registration in the census. Inside the main envelope there must be another envelope destined for 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.
To vote in person, voters must go to the consulate, embassy or other centers authorized to vote, between this Saturday the 20th and Thursday the 25th, both included. The voter will have to prove her identity before the consular officer 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) and who have already requested to participate in the elections will be able to vote until Wednesday the 24th by sending an envelope by certified mail to their polling station. This must contain a census certificate and the voting envelope or envelopes.
