A copy of the face of a citizen’s card is sufficient to accompany postal votes cast by emigrants, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) has decided, following questions from voters about whether the front and back of the document should be mandatory.
“A copy of the face of the citizen’s card, which contains the full name and identification number, is sufficient for validation purposes at the collection and counting tables,” the CNE said in response to a question posed by Lusa.
For fear of using the personal data on their ID cards, or lack of knowledge about how to vote, a high percentage of Portuguese emigrants have not sent in a copy and, as a result, their vote has been annulled.
In the last elections to the Assembly of the Republic (2022), the Constitutional Court declared that the election in the polling stations of the Europe constituency was null and void and that the election should be repeated.
The postal vote for the upcoming legislative elections on March 10 is the option of the overwhelming majority of Portuguese voters abroad and this method requires the inclusion of a copy of the citizen’s card.
Portuguese emigrants who did not wish to vote in person (1,541,295 voters, residing in 189 countries) will have received a letter containing a ballot paper for their constituency, a green envelope in which the ballot paper should be placed after voting, a white envelope (reply envelope, postage paid) and a leaflet containing instructions on how to fill it in and return it (in Portuguese, English and French).
On the ballot paper, the voter must mark their choice of vote with a cross, fold it in four and place it inside the green envelope (without any indications or documents) and seal it. The green envelope must then be placed in the white envelope, together with a copy of the citizen’s card or identity card and, once sealed, sent by post before election day.
