With less than a month to go before the general election on November 29, one of the moments that strikes the greatest fear in the hearts of the general public is beginning: being selected to serve on a polling station.
On Monday, the Valencia City Council held a lottery to determine the composition of the 944 polling stations that will operate in the Valencian capital and has already designated the 8,496 “lucky ones” (2,832 regular members and 5,664 alternates) who will serve on these stations.
How to find out if you’ve been selected to serve at a polling station
The authorities will notify the designated citizens via certified mail over the next few days. Most will receive the notification within the first three days, but the notification may be delayed for various reasons and will still be valid.
If the mail carrier does not find you at home, the procedure is as follows: they will leave a notice in your mailbox so you can pick it up at the nearest post office. In very rare cases, the local police may deliver it to you in person at your home.
However, if you have very important plans that day or if you can’t wait to receive the notification—the Valencia City Council does not publish public lists for privacy reasons—there are three other ways you can find out:
- By calling the City Council’s Citizen Service Hotline. You can contact the administration by calling 010 or 963 100 010 and providing your ID number if you are not currently in Valencia.
- In person at the Municipal Registry Office or the Registration and Population Service. If you go to the Valencia City Council’s central office at 2 Periodista Azzati Street.
- Through the Citizen Portal or electronic notifications. If you’re registered in the government’s electronic notification system and log in with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, notifications sometimes appear before they’re mailed.
Financial compensation and reduced work hours on Monday, the 30th
The law recognizes the “right to receive an allowance” if you are selected to serve on a polling station, a payment set at 75 euros if you are the chairperson or a regular member. Alternates must also report for duty, but they will not receive any payment if they do not serve as active members of the polling station.
In addition, the regulations stipulate that if you are assigned to serve at a polling station for the entire day, you may ask the presiding officer or the official representative for an official, stamped certificate to present to your employer, certifying that you are entitled to a five-hour reduction in your workday on Monday, November 30.
Attendance is mandatory, but with exceptions
Whether as a regular member or an alternate, if you’ve been selected to serve on a polling station, you must report to your polling place on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. by law. Failure to appear without a valid excuse may result in prison terms ranging from three months to one year or fines ranging from 360 euros to a maximum of 288,000 euros (with the penalty adjusted according to the convicted person’s financial means).
However, there are some exceptions that allow you to be excused from serving on a polling station, but in most cases, you must submit the supporting documentation within seven calendar days of receiving the notification. These are the situations that exempt you, some of which are subject to review and others are automatic:
Exemptions
- If you have a trip scheduled for those dates. In this case, the Local Electoral Board will only grant an exemption if three conditions are met:
- Being 65 years of age or older. Senior citizens may voluntarily opt out; it changes from an obligation to a right.
- Recognized disability of 33% or higher.
- Being on temporary medical leave.
- Be a pensioner due to total permanent disability or severe disability (a certificate from the INSS is required).
- Being in an advanced stage of pregnancy (sixth month or later) and providing proof with an official medical certificate.
- Are currently on legal leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
- Being the primary caregiver for a child under 12 years of age.
- Being responsible for a person with a disability or a dependent.
- Having served on a polling station at least three times in the last 10 years (you must provide copies of previous records or appointments).
- Being a victim of violence or having an active restraining order.
- Being incarcerated in a correctional facility or admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Valid reasons
- Family events of special significance, such as weddings, baptisms, or First Communions of immediate family members.
- Single-parent households or sole care of children under 14 years of age.
- Being part of essential services personnel (doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers, or civil protection personnel who must perform indispensable duties and cannot be replaced)
- Injury, ailment, or illness that does not prevent you from working: having a medical condition that has not resulted in a sick leave but makes it difficult to remain at the polling station for 12 to 15 hours.
- Having a high-risk pregnancy during the first six months of gestation (a medical certificate is required).
- Having a scheduled surgical procedure or significant medical tests on the same day or on the days immediately before or after that require rest or preparation.
- A change of residence to another Autonomous Community that makes travel materially difficult.
- Belonging to cloistered religious orders.
- Technical professionals assigned to tasks related to the electoral process.
- Media professionals who are required to provide on-site coverage of Election Day.
- Other professionals whose presence would require the cancellation of public events and cause serious economic harm.
