INVOLVEMENT OF THE POSTAL SERVICE IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
The participation of a postal operator is also essential for the smooth running of the electoral process.
Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A. is the State-designated operator for the provision of the universal postal service and the Government may impose other public service obligations upon it whenever necessary to safeguard the smooth running of electoral processes.
These have been imposed in recent processes by virtue of an Agreement of the Council of Ministers.
The obligations imposed in these Agreements are actions that have to be carried out once the electoral process has been called. They are particularly transcendental for their development due to the urgency and characteristics of the consignments and the importance of safeguarding electoral documentation.
These obligations and actions relate to:
- Postal voting by voters residing in Spain, absent residents and voters who are temporarily absent,
- The votes of personnel on board vessels, the personnel of the Armed Forces on board vessels and those in exceptional situations related to national defence,
- Voting by inmates of penitentiary centres,
- Consignments sent by the Electoral Census Office,
- Mailshots of electoral propaganda sent by the political parties,
- Collection of the electoral documentation at the polling stations.
The imposition of these obligations must be subject to compensation, i.e. no costs should be borne directly by those involved in the electoral process who use postal services. This is not to say that they are costless, as they are borne by the electoral budget.
Law 43/2010(A new window will open) of 30 December on the universal postal service, users’ rights and the postal market.
Order PJC/284/2024 (PDF)(A new window will open) of 1 April, publishing the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of 19 March 2024, which imposes public service obligations on the universal postal service provider in elections to be held in 2024.