HOW TO VOTE IN ORIHUELA MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Voting day on 24 May is fast approaching. Those who are registered to vote should be receiving by post voting cards which confirm that they are on the voters list and informing them at which polling station and at which voting table (mesa) they should vote.

There are three polling stations in Orihuela Costa (in the Playa Flamenca Town Hall, the Alameda del Mar Civic Centre and the Reading Point in Calle Cipress, (just behind Aldi) Lomas de Cabo Roig. They cover broadly the following areas respectively: ………………………

Before voting it is important to know How to Vote because in Spain because it is not the same as in other countries and not the same as in the UK. In Spain, voters vote for a party list and the candidates on the list will be elected in strict proportion to the number of votes cast for that party – provided the party receives at least 5% of the total votes cast.

Voting consists of going to the polling station specified by your address, WITH IDENTIFICATION, (usually a passport for non-Spanish voters) and choosing a ballot form with the name of the party you wish to vote for and its candidates already printed on the form.

These ballot forms or voting lists are available in the voting booths in the polling stations, together with the official envelopes into which the voters list should be placed.

Having decided which party to vote for and therefore which list to choose, the voter is simply required to put the voting list in an official envelope, WITHOUT MARKING IT IN ANY WAY and then to place it in the ballot box. Resist the temptation to put a cross or mark on the voting list before placing it in the official envelope.

ANY CROSS, TICK OR MARK ON THE VOTING LIST WILL RESULT IN THE BALLOT BEING DECLARED INVALID

To complete the act of voting, place the envelope containing the voting list in the ballot box at the appropriate voting table which is indicated according to the alphabetical order of your name and distinguishes between Spanish and non-Spanish voters.

The Spanish voters will also be voting in elections for the Valencia regional assembly on the same day, which non-Spanish residents are not eligible to participate in.

At the voting table, an official will check your identity and verify that you are on the voting list. Officially approved versions of the voting lists are also being distributed by the parties contesting the election, sometimes together with the official envelopes. It is quite legitimate to use these lists and envelopes rather than the ones available in the voting booths.

If you voted in previous municipal elections you definitely registered to vote this time. Also if you have applied to go on the voters list at the Town Hall or returned the prepaid form to go on the voters list you can vote.

If you have not received a voting card, you can still vote. It may simply be due to a postal error. You should go to the polling station allocated for your area with identity and ask for the voting list to be checked to see if you name is included.

There are officials at the entry to the polling stations who will check the official list of voters for you. If you happen to go to the wrong polling station, you will be directed to the right one. If you have to go to this extra trouble, do not be discouraged, your vote is important and may make all the difference to the final result.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/47303/

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