Answers to 14 questions regarding the establishment of postal voting gives the Ministry of Interior.

Particularly :

1. Who is affected by the introduction of postal voting?

The introduction of postal voting concerns all Greek citizens who are registered in the electoral rolls, whether they are in Greece or abroad, and wish to exercise their right to vote in the European elections by postal vote. It must be emphasized that for voters who are abroad, this will be the only way to exercise their right to vote from abroad in the upcoming European elections, that is, there will be no polling stations abroad.

2. How does the postal voting process begin?

● The government will create an online portal for registration in the postal vote electoral rolls.

● The voter, using his codes, registers his application and fills in the address to which he wants the electoral material to be sent. His declared mobile phone and email are authenticated with a one-time password (OTP).

● The deadline for submitting applications ends 40 days before the elections. Until that date, the voter can change the delivery address or any other information, as well as cancel his application.

3. What is included in the postal vote envelope and when is it sent to the voter?

● The file is sent to the voter by the Ministry of the Interior no later than 20 days before the elections with the obligation to receive it either by the voter or by a third party expressly authorized to receive it.

● The voter is informed by email about the sending of the envelope and with a link to see the sending process (tracking).

● The envelope includes: Postal vote return envelope, ballot paper, voting envelope, instruction sheet, list of candidates and declaration form.

● Voting envelopes will be fully anonymized and will have a special feature so that they cannot be falsified.

4. What will the postal vote ballot look like?

● The postal vote ballot is different. It is uniform and printed under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior.

● In the first view it has the combinations and all the parties and coalitions of parties that are candidates, where the voters will put a cross where they choose.

● On the second page, he selects the MEP candidates of the combination he has preferred by selecting the candidate’s number.

● The order of listing the combinations is the order of announcement by the A1 Department of the Supreme Court.

5. How does the voter vote?

● The voter reads the instructions form carefully. He fills in the application – responsible declaration and writes his details in the postal vote return envelope.

● Has a photocopy of the identity card or Greek passport or Greek driver’s license ready. He chooses the combination he wants and the MEP candidates.

● Puts the ballot in the special voting envelope and closes it. He puts the voting envelope, the application – responsible declaration and the proof of identity into the return envelope and closes it. Sends the envelope to the pre-filled address.

6. What happens next after the voter votes and sends the envelope?

● Envelopes must arrive at the postal ballot collection point by 5pm on the day before the election. The voter is responsible for sending the envelope on time.

● Their envelopes are received by the Special Committee for the Collection of Postal Votes, which is formed as soon as the mailing of envelopes begins. There are 10 electoral divisions corresponding to each collection committee. The three-member committee is composed of the President (first-instance judge, first-instance prosecutor, CoE and ElSyn rapporteur) and two judicial officers who receive the mail-in vote return files and check the voter’s registration in the mail-in vote lists.

● The voter is informed by email of the receipt of the envelope. After noting on the electronic platform the receipt of the postal vote, they place the postal vote return envelope in the special ballot box of the electoral division to which the voter belongs.

● The counting of postal votes takes place at the same time as the votes in the rest of the country.

7. Where are the envelopes sent by voters collected?

● Postal vote return envelopes are sent to the pre-filled address. The space can be in a public building or in a private building, which is rented for this purpose (eg an exhibition space).

● The area where the polls are located is guarded by the Greek Police and monitored and recorded by closed circuit television. The recording material is kept at the Court of First Instance of Athens.

● Parties and coalitions of parties participating in the elections are entitled to appoint a regular and an alternate electoral representative to monitor the process.

8. How is the secrecy of the vote ensured?

● Your vote is secret. The secrecy of the postal vote is achieved by separating the voting envelope from the envelope containing the ballot and which is the one that goes into the ballot box together with the ballots of other voters.

● The application – affidavit is kept separately and cannot be combined with your ballot in any way. And the photocopy of your ID or your passport is used exclusively so that there is no doubt that someone else did not vote on your behalf.

9. I lost my voting envelope. What am I doing;

The voting envelope, together with the rest of the material, must be kept in a safe place. Unfortunately, it is not possible to resend the envelope, as it is personal and reprinting will take time, which will not allow you to receive your vote in time.

10. What if I go to vote at my polling station while I am registered to vote by mail?

If I have applied for a postal vote in time, there will be a special mark next to the voter and the judicial representative will not allow me to vote. If the file does not arrive on time, then the court agent at the polling station where I am registered will be notified of the failure to receive the file and I will be able to vote in person there between 10am and 7pm.

11. If I regretted and want to vote in person?

This will only be possible if the file has not been received by the deadline (ie by 17:00 on the eve of the election). Then the judicial representative at the polling station where I am registered will be informed of the non-receipt of the file and I will be able to vote in person there.

12. If I accidentally chose another party or candidate than the one I wanted?

In this exceptional case, the voter can print the ballot that will be on the page of the Ministry of the Interior and put it in the voting envelope.

13. I am a foreign resident. Can I vote in person at a polling station abroad?

No, in the upcoming European elections, Greek citizens who wish to exercise their right to vote from abroad will be able to vote exclusively by postal vote. Polling stations will not operate abroad, as happened in the recent parliamentary elections. Within the Greek territory, voters will be able to choose to exercise their right to vote by postal vote or by physical presence at their polling station.

14. Will I still be able to vote by mail in the next national elections?

The present initiative of the Ministry of the Interior concerns exclusively the European elections and the national referenda. The issue of national elections will be examined and discussed extensively with party representatives.