The end of the requested vote passes its last step in Congress and will change the electoral participation from abroad

The new system will allow ballots to be downloaded and will enable more centers to vote in the ballot box, more voting time, and more time for the recount

MADRID, 5 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The requested vote that for more than ten years has been required from voters residing abroad, which will still be applied in the Andalusian elections on June 19, is nearing its end and next Thursday the Plenary Session of Congress will approve its suppression and its replacement by a series of measures aimed at facilitating the participation of voters from abroad.

After the accumulation of complaints of irregularities with the vote of emigrants, especially in Galician elections, the parties agreed in 2011 on a system that obliges those registered in the Electoral Census of Absent Residents (CERA) to request the vote in advance to be able to exercise the suffrage.

The requested vote system, agreed by the PP, PSOE, PNV and CiU, put an end to suspicions of fraud at a stroke, but also caused the collapse of electoral participation from abroad. Over the years, even the promoters of that reform repented and advocated going back.

More than a decade later, the Constitutional Commission of Congress approved last week by a large majority a reform that does away with that requirement and instead introduces modifications to make it easier for foreign voters to vote in the ballot box at embassies and consulates, in addition to by post, and to ensure that your ballots arrive in time for counting in Spain.

The reform comes from a bill presented in February 2021 by the two groups that support the Government, the PSOE and United We Can, and which was frozen by successive extensions until last April. In recent weeks, its articles have been modified through amendments agreed with the PP and other opposition groups.

In the process, all matters unrelated to the requested vote and that had been raised in this reform were discarded, such as the reduction of the voting age to 16 years or the revision of the proportionality of the electoral system. These other proposals will already be discussed in the subcommission created in Congress to explore the possibility of a broader reform of the electoral law (LOREG).

The opinion was approved without votes against and with the support of PSOE, PP, Vox, United We Can, Citizens and PNV, while the independentistas of ERC, Bildu and Junts chose to abstain. The text will be approved in plenary next Thursday for submission to the Senate, with which it is calculated that it will be in the BOE at the turn of the summer and that it will already be applied in the next general elections.

The new procedure for those registered in the CERA will allow these voters to download the ballots from the Internet and will bring forward the traditional delivery of electoral documentation, with which they will be able to choose between the two options.

To facilitate electoral participation, the centers for voting in the ballot box will be expanded, not only the embassies but all the consulates and official centers that are enabled. And in the same way, the hours and days of voting will be extended. The main parties ruled out other options such as the telematic vote and the vote by proxy that the Catalan separatists defended, since they consider that they do not offer sufficient guarantees.

In addition, the sending of votes cast abroad will be protected by establishing that they be sent to Spain by diplomatic bag. Consequently, the deadline for counting is extended by two days so that the ballots arrive on time.

Other changes establish that the Central Electoral Board must make a report of the measures that are being taken and that the CERA will be updated every five years to have more localized voters.