• General elections in Spain 2023: last minute of the polling stations, voting news and polls, live today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

The general elections this Sunday, July 23, are already taking place and Spain is risking its political future in them. At this time it is common for not only doubts to arise about how to vote, but also questions about the distribution of seats or how many of them a political party needs to govern, with or without an absolute majority.

Spain is a parliamentary monarchy. According to the Constitution, an absolute majority is obtained when a party meets the requirement of obtaining a certain number of seats, then it can govern alone.. This condition is very easy to explain, since it is achieved through the favorable vote of more than half of the members of the corresponding body..

In the case of Spain, that body is the Congress of Deputies made up of 350 members.. Therefore, the formation that wants to govern with an absolute majority must achieve a minimum of 176 seats, the whole number higher than half, 175. However, that number of votes is not necessary for a candidate to be able to govern.

And if an absolute majority is not obtained?

If this number of seats is not reached once the votes have been counted, the Spanish regulatory framework establishes that an agreement must be reached to present a candidate who will be proposed by the Head of State for the presidency. This candidate would need to obtain the support of an absolute majority, in which it would be necessary to obtain again 176 positive contributions.

In this case, the political formations will have to agree with others to help them obtain the necessary seats to be able to govern, although if they do not agree, another election will be held in Congress.. In this second appointment, it will be enough to obtain a simple majority, in which more votes in favor than against will be necessary to obtain the confidence of the chambers.

In the event that the investiture of a candidate is not agreed at this point either, the voting in Congress would be repeated for the third time. This call should be submitted within a maximum period of two months from the first. After that period, the Cortes would be dissolved and new elections would be called, as happened in 2015. Madrid is the province that contributes the most deputies, followed by Barcelona. On the contrary, Soria is the constituency with the least representation along with Ceuta and Melilla.

• General elections in Spain 2023: last minute of the electoral colleges, voting news and polls, today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

The general elections of this July 23 are just around the corner. Therefore, it is the moment in which the citizens must choose which will be the candidate to take the position of president of the Government during the next four years. However, the number of politicians who run for said position does not always coincide with the number of voting options available to the voter..

These alternatives are just as valid as those of introducing the ballot paper into the envelope by the candidate who is considered suitable.. And it is that disaffection and indifference are legitimate enough reasons to translate them into the results of the polls. One of the types of votes that are most commented on today is the null vote.. This is a way of participating in the electoral process while disagreeing with the government proposals that are being put forward by the different political parties for the next legislature..

In an election, two types of votes are considered valid: the vote for a specific candidacy or the blank vote. To declare a vote void, it must have one of the following characteristics:

• Ballots inserted in the wrong envelopes
• Envelopes containing more than one ballot from different candidacies
• Envelopes with some type of alteration (torn, painted)
• Envelopes containing ballots in which the names or order of the candidates have been added, crossed out or modified, regardless of the reason

Alternatives to null voting

The fact that voting in our country is a right and not a duty means that the data on zero participation in the different electoral processes are not too high.. In the 2019 general elections, VOX wanted a review of the count to be carried out throughout the country after the alleged emergence of a large percentage of thousands of invalid votes, implying that the results could have been falsified.. However, in Spain this option has never had much influence.

The occasion in which the most null votes have been registered was in the municipal elections of the year 2011, with approximately 400,000 rejected ballots, despite the fact that the percentage has never exceeded 1.7% in any case.

A similar alternative to the invalid vote is the blank vote. The main difference of the latter is that it does count for the data, both for participation and for calculating the distribution of seats, since the null has no effect on the outcome of an election. Even so, it is interesting for different sociological studies.

• General elections in Spain 2023: last minute of the polling stations, voting news and polls, live today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

The Spaniards have a very special appointment this Sunday, July 23, since the elections will take place in which the representatives of the Cortes Generales in Spain will be chosen. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in these elections close to 37 million people will be able to vote, of these, 1.6 million will be able to participate for the first time in a general election, for having turned 18 since the previous vote for Cortes, held on November 10, 2019..

After the announcement by the current President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, of the advancement of the elections, after the municipal elections on May 28, the doubts that have revolved around the process have been multiplying. In the first place, the general elections fall in the middle of the summer season, which has generated an avalanche of requests to vote by mail that have forced the postal service company to deploy all its resources.

The polling stations have everything prepared for the incessant trickle of voters who will go to the polls during the day. Fortunately, to facilitate the right to vote on a Sunday, you are not obliged to go to vote at any specific time, and the opening and closing hours of the polling stations are always the same throughout the Spanish territory: from nine in the morning to eight in the afternoon, a time slot of 11 uninterrupted hours.. Of course, if you are a member of the polling station or substitute, you will have to present yourself there at eight in the morning.. The first official results will begin to be known from nine at night. It can be done in different ways:

• National Identity Document (DNI): The DNI receipt in process is useless, since the voter's photograph does not appear on it
• Passport (with photo)
• Driving license (with photo)

Likewise, from Moncloa they remember that people who work on July 23, have the right to be absent to go to vote. The State Administration or, where appropriate, that of the autonomous communities “will adopt the necessary measures so that the personnel who work for others and those who provide their services on election day can have up to 4 free hours (paid) during their working hours to exercise the right to vote”, they detail.. When the work is provided in reduced hours, the corresponding proportional reduction of the leave will be made..

Once the polling stations close their doors, the time for counting arrives. It is carried out as follows: the president extracts, one by one, the envelopes from the ballot box and reads out loud the name of the candidacy. Show each ballot, once read, to members, auditors and attorneys. Once the recount is finished, a record will be drawn up and a copy will be delivered to representatives of each candidacy, auditors, attorneys-in-fact and candidates who request it, as well as to the representative of the Administration.. This will be the provisional scrutiny. The final one will be held from July 28 to 31 by the Provincial Electoral Boards.

• General elections in Spain 2023: last minute of the polling stations, voting news and polls, live today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

There is nothing left to go to the polls for the general elections on July 23. Uncertainty and tension are very common feelings at this time, since the candidate who will hold the post of Prime Minister for the next four years will be chosen. However, it will not be the only issue on which a decision will be made..

An essential element that many citizens overlook is knowing what is voted for in the elections. Apart from knowing what the electoral program of the different parties that are running for the elections is, it is essential to be aware of what type of voting is involved and what exactly the voters will choose this Sunday. In this case, not only will it be decided who will be the president of the Government during the next legislature. Spaniards will also be summoned to the polls to find out who will occupy the seats of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, that is, the members that make up the legislative power of Spain.

These organizations will be chosen by means of two ballot papers, which will be placed in two different envelopes.. The deputies of the Congress, made up of 350 seats, will be elected with white envelopes and ballots. The candidacies of the political parties for this institution appear on closed lists, which means that the voter votes exclusively for the party and not for individuals from various political forces.. On the other hand, we have the sepia-colored ballots and envelopes, which are intended for the election of the members of the Senate. There are 265 total members of the organization and its election system varies with respect to that of Congress, since, in this case, the citizen can choose specific individuals from different political formations through an open list..

How and when to vote in the general elections

Election day will begin this Sunday, July 23 at 9:00 a.m.. The polling stations will open earlier so that citizens who have been called to form part of the polling station can prepare sufficiently in advance to face the day in the best possible conditions.. Citizens who want to vote may do so from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., when the polls will remain open.

The population must identify themselves through their ID, their passport or their driving license. These documents must contain a photo of the voter in question. An example of material that would not be worth presenting is the receipt of the DNI processing, since it lacks an image. In case of voting by mail, the citizen is excluded from going to the polls that day.

It should be added that there are two types of votes: valid (including blank votes) and null. These must have one of the following characteristics:

• Use envelopes or ballots other than the official ones
• The ballot does not have an envelope
• An envelope contains several ballots from different parties (if you have several from the same party, it counts as a single vote)
• Use an official but altered envelope
• The ballot has names of candidates added, crossed out or modified, their order has been changed or something more than the simple mark of the chosen ones has been written on it
• The Senate ballot features more candidates selected than are elected in the province in which the vote is cast

The voter must avoid the previous points if he wants his vote to influence the result of the elections, in addition to making sure that he has inserted the ballots in their corresponding envelopes.. The knowledge about what is chosen this Sunday will allow the citizen to vote with greater propriety.

• General elections in Spain 2023: where do I have to vote, last minute of the polling stations and Pedro Sánchez, live today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

Everything ready for the appointment of the polls with the citizens that will be held this Sunday, July 23, on the occasion of the general elections. In these elections, the one who will be the new president of the Government for the next four years will be elected. Although the majority of Spaniards are already prepared to go, doubts about the polling station or polling station to attend or its opening hours do not cease to arise..

To vote, you must bring your ID or any official supporting document that includes a photograph, but in no case will a photocopy be valid. Once the votes have been deposited, the presidents of the polling stations will announce the end of the vote and the ballots will be scrutinized, extracting the envelopes one by one.. To find out where and how to go to vote, the fundamental aspects that we must consider when attending are explained below.

The right to vote will be exercised, in person, at the polling stations that will open their doors from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.. If it is later, you can also vote if there are still people inside the site, although it is recommended not to rush to the maximum to avoid any inconvenience or misunderstanding. The presidents and members of the tables must go before and, as is logical, they will leave later, after finishing with the counting of the votes.

How to know where to vote

To find out which is the corresponding electoral college, there is a very simple way: you only have to look at the census letter that all citizens will have received at home, where the electoral college and the corresponding table where you have to vote are indicated.. The procedure can also be resolved by telephone through the provincial delegations and the Electoral Census Office on the free telephone number 900 343 232, available from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and which will have extended hours on election day.

If you do not have this envelope or do not want to make the consultation by phone, there are alternatives available on the Internet. The voter must enter the website of the National Institute of Statistics, identify himself through the electronic DNI or the Cl@ve PIN system and enter several of his personal data: province, initial of the first surname, address of the house where he is registered and municipality. With these data, the server will quickly indicate which location and polling station you should go to.

In addition, some municipalities such as Madrid have recently enabled an electoral census search engine on their web pages.. In this way, citizens registered in the capital can access the consultation in a very similar way to the INE, identifying themselves and entering their ID, name and date of birth. Finally, it should be remembered that those voters who have requested to vote by mail will no longer be able to go to the polling station in person on July 23.

• General elections in Spain 2023: latest voting news, live today
• Electoral program of the PP | electoral program of the PSOE | Sumar electoral program | Vox electoral program
• Pedro Sanchez | Alberto Núñez Feijóo | Santiago Abascal | Yolanda Diaz

We are in full voting day for these 2023 General Elections in Spain, and millions of voters are going to exercise their right to vote at the ballot box. Many have already done so by mail, and others will refrain from participating in these elections for one reason or another.. Those who want to go to vote in person during today's day, 23-J, only need to bring a personal identification document to the polling station.

The ballots and envelopes, although they have been sent by postal mail in recent weeks, are available to whoever needs them at the polling station itself.. To vote, the voter must only go to the school assigned according to their registration, choose their ballots and present their ID or other identification document to the president of the polling station, even if it has expired..

Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, of the General Electoral Regime, in its article 85, indicates that “the right to vote is accredited by the registration in the certified specimens of the census lists or by specific census certification and, in both cases, by the identification of the voter, which is carried out by national identity document, passport, or driving license in which the photograph of the owner appears “. However, it does not indicate anything about whether you can go to vote with your ID card expired.

You can vote with your expired DNI, but renew it as soon as possible

Voting is a right of all Spaniards, and the Central Electoral Board has been asked on several occasions whether it is possible to vote with an expired identification document. There are several doctrines presented before the Board that deal with this issue, and the answer is always the same: yes, you can vote with an identification document, be it an ID, passport or driving license, expired.

“The Central Electoral Board has repeatedly agreed that for all purposes of identification, both of voters in the act of voting and of candidates in the presentation and proclamation of candidacies, the identification document must be accepted, even if it is expired”, as indicated in one of the many resolutions made by the board. In short, you can go vote with your ID expired this 23-J.

Although it is true that, for other administrative procedures or to identify yourself before the relevant authority, an expired ID, passport or driving license can be a problem, even denying us the process or a scheduled trip. For this, it is advisable to make an appointment in advance and renew the identification documents, paying the corresponding fees, which will not be higher or entail a penalty if the document has expired.

The man arrested this Thursday by the Civil Guard for the alleged murder of his partner, a 54-year-old neighbor from Humilladero (Málaga) named Carmen, has been brought to justice this Saturday, as reported by the armed institute. The alleged murderer remained in the cells of Antequera, where he was transferred after being arrested in the Malaga municipality of Alameda. In the early hours of this Thursday, the woman called the 112 emergency service warning that she was having difficulty breathing, for which members of the Civil Guard and health services went to the place, who transferred her to the Antequera Regional Hospital, where she was admitted with head trauma.. In the early afternoon, however, he has been released.

However, due to the seriousness of the injuries, the victim was evacuated by helicopter to the Malaga Regional Hospital, where he died hours later, according to health sources.. Investigators arrested his partner for this crime in the neighboring town of Alameda, located about 15 kilometers from Humilladero.. The circumstance arises that on July 15 there was a first incident between the victim and the now detainee and it is being investigated whether there could have been more.. Apparently, the woman was able to betray her alleged attacker before dying. Carmen already denounced her partner in September 2020, but no judicial measures were taken.

Both victim and aggressor were included in the Comprehensive Monitoring System in cases of Gender Violence, known as VioGén, due to said complaint, but it was inactive as no judicial measure was taken.. The alleged perpetrator of the crime was transferred this Friday to the victim's home for a reconstruction of the events, as well as to Alameda for a home search.

Although the investigation is very early, the agents found indications that the injuries suffered by the woman could be the result of an assault, according to sources close to the case. The Government Delegation against Gender Violence confirmed this Friday the macho nature of the crime, which would be the eighth in Andalusia in the field of couples or ex-partners and number 29 so far this year in Spain.

More than 2.47 million voters have deposited their vote at the Post Office for the 23-J elections, which represents 94.2% of the applications admitted, the highest ratio reached in a general election since 2008, that is, the first year with approved statistical records.

As Correos explains in a press release sent this Saturday, it represents 99.08% more than the total number of votes admitted in the general elections of April 2019 (1,241,716) and 82.06% more than in those of June 2016 (1,357,745) which, until now, marked the historical record in the number of votes by mail managed in the electoral processes of Spanish democracy..

In addition, the difference between applications and votes admitted has been 5.8%, the lowest ratio recorded in all electoral processes, compared to 7.8% in April 2019, 6.6% in June 2016, and the average of 7.3% if the general elections held since 2008 are considered.

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Crucial moment in the future of the country with the general elections that are held in Spain this Sunday, July 23. Citizens go to the polls to exercise their right to vote for the first time in the middle of summer after Pedro Sánchez's decision to advance the elections after the results of the municipal and regional votes that took place at the end of last May.

They will be elections that are very even, with the PSOE trying to maintain the Government with the support of Sumar and the nationalist bloc, but with the PP and Vox indicated as possible winners after the counts. If that were the case, the right would return to power after the last time it occurred in the twelfth legislature of democracy, with Mariano Rajoy as president, ending a motion of censure in June 2018 headed by the socialist leader and current president of the Spanish Government.

Before reaching July 23, citizens can make sure that their name appears on the electoral roll, as well as check 100% in which polling station and table they can exercise their right to vote in the general elections.. All this can be done through a simple and fast procedure.

How to check your electoral roll?

The decision that the date of the elections to decide the new Government of the country should be July 23 upset the plans of some citizens, who were forced to request the vote by mail. As far as being members of polling stations is concerned, yes, the Executive gave a break to people who had already paid for their summer vacations, allowing them to get rid of being at the polling station that day.

Infographic on the elections to Cortes Generales on July 23 @es_INE

Spanish voters residing in Spain (CER)
Are there more men or women?
how old are they?
how many new voters are there?
Where do they live?https://t.co/7fiQJSc3pK #INE pic.twitter.com/AeFAuczUN3

— INE Spain (@es_INE) June 19, 2023

Anyone who is going to go to the polling station normally and wants to make sure online where to do it must follow the following steps. It can be checked through the website of the National Institute of Statistics (ine.es). There appears the option to access the 'Electoral Census', located in one of the tabs at the top of the screen, which will lead to a new one.

After that, you will have to click on 'Consult registration data in the electoral roll'. Once inside, it will be specified that the search is for the July 23 elections, having to click on 'Consult the registration in the Electoral Census' and, later, on 'Authenticate in Cl@ve', for which it is necessary to have the electronic ID, the digital certificate, or the Cl@ve PIN available on the computer. When choosing the option with which to access, each and every one of the citizen's data and the details to carry out the vote at the corresponding polling station will come out.

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This Sunday, July 23, citizens have marked on the calendar one of the most important events of the year, the general elections. Thus, with the votes of almost 37 million people, the members of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate in Spain will be renewed. The importance of these elections lies in the fact that the two chambers of the Cortes Generales represent the citizens and are the basis of the Legislative Power in our country.. Deputies and senators mark the policies that will be carried out in the next four years. In addition, the new deputies propose the candidate who will become the future president of the Government.

It has been clear, since the beginning of the electoral campaign, that the formations fight to be the first political force. Now the ball is in the court of those who go to vote at the polling stations from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m..

As established in the Constitution, they are elected by “universal, direct and secret suffrage”. In the case of the members of Congress -made up of 350 deputies-, citizens vote for closed lists, that is, they must insert a ballot paper with the candidates of their political party or chosen group in the envelope.. The Senate is elected through open lists and candidates from different formations can be elected on the same ballot.

Absolute and simple majority

The votes are counted by electoral constituencies and in Spain there are 52 for the Congress of Deputies, which correspond to the 50 Spanish provinces plus the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. After the scrutiny, the seats are distributed through the D'Hondt Law that determines how the votes are distributed for the candidate. For the Congress, 350 deputies are elected and for the Senate, a total of 208 senators..

An absolute majority in the Cortes Generales means obtaining more than half of the seats plus one. In this way, and as the Lower House is made up of 350 deputies, half is situated at 175. Thus, the absolute majority is 176 seats. To achieve a simple majority, it is required that the votes in favor add up to more than the votes against.. Likewise, the total number of voters is not taken into account, but the votes that are considered invalid or blank and the abstentions in other types of voting are taken into account..