Correos process nearly 600,000 applications by post

Until yesterday, the 17th, Correos had accepted more than 600,000 applications from citizens who want to exercise their right to vote by post in the Regional and Local Elections and other electoral processes that will be held on Sunday 27 May 2007. Up to 17 May, Correos had delivered 547,818 applications to the Provincial Offices of the Electoral Register.

The aforementioned amount of applications received will be increased further by those made today, the 18th, in the municipalities where the deadline for requesting a postal vote has been extended by one day, as yesterday was a public holiday (Region of Galicia and certain Spanish municipalities).

This provisional data for voting applications accepted already exceeds the total of those received in the previous regional and local elections held in 2003, when the final figure was 531,000.

Andalusia, with 111,689 applications, is the region where Correos has delivered the greatest number of applications, followed by Madrid, with 78.503 and Castilla-Leon, with 54,569.

Following verification of the applicants’ registration on the electoral roll, the Provincial Offices of the Electoral Register send the electoral documentation to the address indicated by the voter on the application, by urgent registered post.

Correos distributes this documentation and is responsible for its delivery, in hand, to the addressee, who has until Wednesday, 23 May to deposit the envelope with his or her vote at one of the national entity’s more than 10,000 admission points throughout Spain.

Correos’ collaboration in the Regional and Local Elections and other electoral process also extends to delivering the cards showing registration on the electoral roll and delivering electoral propaganda.

In the last few weeks, Correos has delivered 34,095,330 voting cards sent by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (The Spanish Statistics Institute) to the homes of citizens with the right to vote on the 27 May next. The voting cards contain information regarding registration on the electoral roll, as well as the corresponding polling station or desk.

Furthermore, until next 25 May, Correos will distribute the electoral propaganda for the different parties, coalitions and federations participating in the elections.

Correos has made 683,452 deliveries of registration certificates and other voting documentation to 154 countries, addressed to citizens who live abroad and are registered in the Electoral Roll of Absent Residents (C.E.R.A.).

This figure includes the documentation officially sent by the Provincial Offices of the Electoral Register to those registered voters in regions where Regional Elections are being held (558,670) and also those sent, on request, to the C.E.R.A voters (Absent Voters) who notified of their wish to participate in the municipal elections (124,782).