The bill on postal voting is being introduced to the Public Administration, Public Order and Justice Committee today for processing.

“The new parliamentary year begins on Monday with a bill, which I believe has a special symbolism. In the morning we will be in the Parliament to defend the bill that establishes for the first time in the history of the Greek state the institution of postal voting” he said on Sunday at an event in Patras the Minister of the Interior Niki Kerameos and added: “The postal vote is a measure, which concerns all Greeks living abroad, but also all Greeks who are in our country».

As Niki Kerameos characteristically mentioned, “postal voting is a measure that deepens democracy” and continued: “Whoever is afraid of postal voting, is afraid of participation. It is a measure of democracy, that is, how we will bring more people to the polls, how we will strengthen participation and how we will motivate our fellow citizens to go and express their will”.

Referring to the procedures that will follow, the interior minister said that “the bill is scheduled to be voted on in January” and added: “Then, in February, March and April, the platform will be open to indicate whether one wants to vote by letter in the June European elections. At the end of April, the platform closes, the files are sent from the Ministry of the Interior for those who have requested to vote by mail, they receive them about 20 days before the elections and they have several days at their disposal to complete the postal vote. The only prerequisite is that the postal vote is returned and has arrived by the eve of the European elections, Saturday, June 8, at 5:00».

Speaking about ensuring the secrecy of the vote, Niki Kerameos said that “all precautions for secrecy, security and validity have been taken, with Taxis codes, with confirmation with a security code on the mobile phone, with monitoring the course of the file to the voter knows at all times where his envelope is, with authenticity features on the envelopes and all the safeguards that the best international practices have and many more”.

At the same time, he underlined that “we are adopting this measure to exhaust all the institutional tools we need as a State, in order to motivate more people to go vote”.

What does the bill that was submitted to Parliament provide?

With this bill, for the first time in the country’s history, the possibility of postal voting in the European elections and referendums is established for all Greek citizens who are registered in the electoral rolls.

The bill contains provisions on the method of electing MEPs and harmonizes with the institutional framework applicable to national elections.

It also introduces a procedure for clearing the electoral rolls by deleting on 31.10.2024 those who were cumulatively born before 1.1.1944, have not submitted themselves or do not appear as dependents in tax returns for the tax year 2022, do not have a Greek passport in effect and do not receive a pension.

In addition, measures are taken to facilitate the exercise of the right to vote with the physical presence of persons with disabilities and to facilitate their access to the pre-election dialogue.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the forwarded provisions remained in the consultation for two weeks and the comments made were taken into account for the final formulation of the bill.

Indicatively, a provision was incorporated for the transmission of pre-election messages with subtitles, following a proposal of the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (ESAMeA). Following another proposal, a provision was incorporated that identification for the completion of the ballot should be carried out either through gov.gr or by sending proof of identity, as well as the prohibition to send the return envelope by a third party (except in the case of express authorization).

The purpose of the draft law, as noted in the introductory report, is a) to modernize the method of electing MEPs, including through the introduction of the possibility of exercising the right to vote by postal vote for the election of the country’s MEPs (a regulation that is about to apply and for the holding of referenda), b) the further facilitation of the participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process.

It is also reported that the introduction of postal voting can be a strong incentive to increase participation, especially for special categories of voters.

For the design of the postal voting methodology, cases of its application throughout Europe, the USA and Australia were extensively studied. Considerable weight was given to full and strict compliance with the directives of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The draft law establishes the creation of an electronic application for the submission of applications by voters for the possibility of exercising their right to vote by postal vote. No restriction is imposed, other than the registration of the voter in the electoral rolls. Also, no geographical restriction is imposed and it is not required to invoke any reason for choosing the postal vote.

Applications may be submitted to the online application up to forty (40) days prior to the election. The voter enters the application with his personal codes-credentials of the G.G.P.S.P.S.D. (taxisnet/AADE) and the application is confirmed using a one-time password on a mobile phone and e-mail (One Time Password, OTP), for security reasons.

Political parties or candidates are not involved in the process, either in sending or receiving the files. Severe penalties are provided for anyone who distributes a voting file or opens it without the provisions of the law.

Special mention is made of the fact that the voter submits a responsible declaration, with which he confirms that he filled out the ballot paper himself and that he expresses his personal will only.

The draft law states that the files must have reached her hands Postal Ballot Collection Committee until 17:00 on the eve of the election day.

To ensure the process and in particular the authenticity of the expression of the popular will and the secrecy of the vote:

1. Voter applications are made in a special electronic application with the voter’s credentials, while a one-time code is used using a mobile phone and email (Article 8).

2. It is possible to submit the application at consulates and citizen service centers, also using the “my kep live” service. (par. 3 of article 8).

3. A voter who has declared that he wishes to exercise his electoral right by postal vote cannot vote in person, except under specific conditions in the event that he did not send the return envelope or the envelope was not received in time, in order to prevent the possibility double vote (par. 6 of article 21).

4. The Postal Vote Collection Committees and the Postal Vote Sorting Electoral Committees are chaired by a judge and their members are lawyers. Correspondingly, electors cannot be appointed as members of electoral committees in Electoral Committees for Sorting Postal Votes (articles 15, 16).

5. The special ballot boxes for the safekeeping of envelopes for the return of postal votes are sealed daily with a special procedure and there is continuous recording on closed circuit television of the places where they are located. The electoral material is kept at the Court of First Instance of Athens for three years. The Hellenic Police undertakes the guarding of the area (par. 4 and 5 of article 10).

6. A General Registrar, Vice-President or member of the Supreme Court is appointed, who supervises the procedure (Article 18).

7. The voter monitors the progress of the file with a tracking system, as soon as it is sent by the Ministry of the Interior. (par. 4 of article 11).

8. The postal and courier service companies also operate on the eve of the election day, so that the postal votes arrive in time (par. 2 of article 14).

9. Special care is taken in cases of replacing the voter’s application and the ballot paper without jeopardizing the secrecy of the vote (Article 12).

10. The voting envelopes where the ballot is located are anonymous and cannot be identified with the voter (Article 12).

The bill also begins the process of clearing the electoral rolls, using the available registers of the Greek State. Regulations are also introduced to facilitate the exercise of voting rights by persons with disabilities.