Those citizens who have been selected to be part of the polling stations this Sunday, July 23 for the general elections, should know that if they do not show up at the polling station they can be harshly sanctioned.
As detailed in the Electoral Law, the positions of presidents or members of a polling station are mandatory. For this reason, if a citizen has been summoned and does not attend, they violate the law, which entails a harsh sanction.
The sanction is imprisonment from three months to one year or a fine from six to 24 months.
Citizens who work on Sunday and have been called to form part of a polling station should know that they are entitled to full-time paid leave, so they will not lose part of their salary for that day.
In addition, if they have to work the day after the elections, that is, Monday, July 24, they have the right to a five-hour workday reduction.
As is obvious, the law includes a series of justified reasons why a citizen may not appear as president or member of a polling station despite having been summoned.
These reasons for not going to a polling station must be previously justified to the Zone Electoral Board. So it is not worth not showing up that day without having previously received permission from the area board.
Likewise, voting by mail does not exempt citizens from being called to form part of a polling station, despite the widespread belief that it does. The causes that are regulated are:
Among these: being over 65 years of age, having a disability, being sick or on leave from work, being pregnant for more than six months or having a risky pregnancy or undergoing surgery on the days close to the vote.
Among them: being the mother of a baby under 9 months of age, having a child under 14 years of age when the other parent cannot take care of him, planning a family event of special importance that cannot be postponed or the direct and continuous care of children under 8 years of age, people with disabilities or elderly and/or sick relatives.
Among them: the workers who provide their services to the electoral boards, the courts, health personnel, firefighters or the directors and heads of information services that must cover the day.
The exceptionality of the call for early general elections on July 23, in the middle of the vacation period for thousands of Spaniards, has led the Electoral Board to admit as a reason for being part of a polling station the fact of having contracted a trip. Of course, it must have been hired before May 29, 2023 and “provided that the cancellation causes economic damage or serious disruption to the applicant”
Those citizens called to form part of a polling station who meet any of the above reasons, have a period of 7 days to present their allegations before the Zone Electoral Board. Subsequently, the Electoral Board must resolve the claims within a period of five days
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