2024 brings an important innovation in the conduct of electoral procedures in Greece: the institutionalization of postal voting and its maiden application in the June European elections, exactly 50 years after the restoration of the Republic.

The relevant draft law of the Ministry of the Interior was placed in public consultation for comment and suggestions until January 10, 2024 and will then be submitted for a vote in Parliament.

The introduction of postal voting is estimated to be a counterweight to abstention, as it provides an incentive for participation, especially with regard to special categories of voters who find it difficult to come to the polling station (elderly, disabled, seasonal workers, students, etc.).

The measure is expected to be applied to the European elections and national referendums. The elector within the territory may choose whether to exercise his right to vote by postal vote instead of attending his polling station. For overseas voters, postal voting is the only way to exercise the right to vote, as there will be no overseas polling stations, as happened in the May-June dual parliamentary elections.

The postal vote will not be applied in case of holding parliamentary elections and European elections or parliamentary elections and national referendum on the same day.

Voters who wish to exercise their right to vote by postal vote are registered on their own initiative in the special electoral lists of postal voters. The registration is done through an electronic application that will be created by the Ministry of the Interior after the passing of the bill and will be accessible through the Unified Digital Portal of the Public Administration (gov.gr). The voter is identified by using the taxisnet codes and alternatively by using a combination of the details of his passport and the police identity card. Applications can also be submitted through Citizen Service Centers (CSCs), as well as Greek diplomatic authorities abroad.

The deadline for submitting applications is 40 days before the election. This means that for the European elections of 9 June 2024, when the measure will premiere, applications should be submitted by 28 April at the latest. Until that date the voter can change the delivery address or any other information, as well as cancel his application.

Immediately after the finalization of the electoral lists, the electoral divisions for sorting postal voting ballots are set up and those registered in the special electoral lists are allocated to them. The polling stations, as well as the postal vote collection committees, are housed in appropriate public or private spaces, which will be guarded by the Police and monitored by closed-circuit television.

Between 100 and 1,000 voters can be allocated to each of these polling stations.

The voter receives the special electoral file himself or an authorized person by registered urgent letter to the declared address. In the event that the envelope is given to an unauthorized person, the courier company is subject to a fine of 10,000 euros.

The special voting file contains the postal vote return file, the voting file, the ballot paper, a form with instructions and a list of candidates and a declaration form. All envelopes will have an embossed feature on the outside to prevent counterfeiting.

The ballot paper on one side has all the parties that will take part in the election and the choice will be made by ticking the box next to the party’s name and emblem. The MEP candidates are selected on the reverse side where there are 42 numbered squares (from 1 to 42) that correspond to the total number of candidates for each party. Instead of a cross, the voter circles the number corresponding to each desired candidate (up to four choices) found on the instruction form.

The circulation of the special voting envelope by third parties, even by the parties themselves, is prohibited, while severe penalties are provided for the circulation of printed materials of the parties or other bodies through the special voting envelope, the alteration, forgery or production of envelopes in a similar format to this of the special electoral file or the voting file, as well as the opening of the voting file and the postal vote return file by unauthorized persons.

The step-by-step process

The procedure for the voter to exercise the right to vote by letter is as follows:

Step 1: He fills in the form – responsible declaration for exercising his electoral right by postal vote and places it in the return envelope, unless he chooses to fill it out electronically. With the responsible declaration, the voter declares, among other things, that he is registered in the special electoral lists for postal voting and will not vote in person in the upcoming elections, as well as that the completion of the ballot was done exclusively by him without the influence of another person.

Step 2: Inside the return envelope, he places the sealed voting envelope, which contains the ballot paper, electronically completes the responsible declaration and confirms the sending of the envelope, using the identification codes on the mobile phone and the e-mail address that has been declared. Alternatively, instead of using the special application, the voter has the option of placing in the sealed voting envelope, apart from the ballot, a) the signed application – responsible declaration of postal voting, and b) a photocopy of his police ID. The above is required to confirm the voter’s identity and to prevent a case of malicious exercise of the right to vote by a third party. He also fills in his information as a sender and necessarily his special electoral number.

Step 3: He chooses the combination he wants by placing a preference cross in the special square.

Step 4: He chooses the MEP candidates to whom he wants to express his preference. For this purpose, refer to the instructions booklet, where immediately after the instructions there is a complete list of the combinations participating in the elections and their candidates. There he locates the candidate’s serial number and circles or notes the corresponding number in that section of the ballot paper. When he has completed his choices, he closes the ballot in the voting envelope.

Step 5: Finally, he sends the envelope through postal or courier companies, according to the instructions provided.

The files must arrive at the postal vote collection point by 5 pm on the eve of the election and are received by a special three-member committee.

Those who declared that they would vote by mail but did not do so or sent the envelope late can exercise their right to vote, on the day of the election, after 10 am at the polling station where they are registered.

For the overall supervision of the entire process, the President of the Supreme Court designates one of the Vice-Presidents or members of the Court as General Registrar.

The three-member Postal Vote Collection Committee, which is established with prestigious persons, undertakes the receipt of voting envelopes and their distribution by electoral division to which the voter who sent a postal vote belongs. Postal vote envelopes are kept in special ballot boxes, which are sealed daily, in the presence of party representatives. These ballot boxes are delivered at 7 am on the day of the elections to each special electoral committee, in order to proceed in time to unseal the envelopes and place the ballots in the ballot box. After the completion of the electoral process, the sorting of the ballots begins, while as soon as the results of all the special electoral divisions are collected, the General Registrar prepares the table of results which he immediately sends in printed and electronic form to the Ministry of the Interior.