POSTAL BALLOT IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

During the last years, Romanians living abroad have been waiting impatiently the adoption of a law allowing postal ballot – an alternative to the classic and rigid vote, designed to enable a larger number of voters residing abroad to vote in parliamentary, presidential or European elections.

In fact, the manner in which the last presidential elections of November 2014 were organized abroad was largely criticized because many Romanians failed to cast their ballots because of the insufficient number of pooling offices and poor organization. Images of queues formed at pooling stations in Paris or London made the news headlines in Romania. The adoption of the postal ballot is, thus, requested by a large number of citizens.

Law no. 288/2015, which introduces postal ballot, was promulgated by President Iohannis and published in the Official Journal no. 866 of November 19, 2015. Even if the initial law draft provided the introduction of postal ballot in the parliamentary, presidential or European elections, Law no. 288/2015 allows postal ballot only in parliamentary elections.

Even if France gave up postal ballot in the seventies for presidential and parliamentary elections, French expats recently made a series of recommendations to the Romanian authority with regard to the manner in which ballots can be cast abroad.

PROS AND CONS

Postal ballot is a viable alternative to classic vote, allowing citizens living in remote areas to exercise this fundamental right. Furthermore, citizens unable to travel because of their health condition may vote by mail. This will finally increase the number of voters, as well as representativeness.

As regards disadvantages, there is, without a doubt, the risk that vote sincerity and confidentiality be altered, because voters’ will can be manipulated – no one can guarantee that the voter expressed his/her choice without being coerced. Furthermore, envelopes could be open or could not reach the central electoral bureau.

VOTING PROCEDURE

Ballots can only be cast by mail in the parliamentary elections. Postal ballot is accessible to Romanian voters residing abroad. The Ministry of External Affairs has the mission to inform Romanian citizens on the possibility to cast their ballots by mail.

Any citizen whishing to vote by mail must enroll in the Electoral Register and his/her application must provide that he/she wishes to vote in this manner. The written application must be filed either personally, or sent by mail at the diplomatic mission/consular office in the foreign State where the voter resides.

Each voter receives by mail the voting material – the voter’s card, containing his/her identity data, an anonymous envelope, a mail envelope, the ballot and instructions he/she must follow in order to vote. The voter then introduces the ballot in the anonymous envelope, seals it and introduces it, together with the dated and signed voter’s card in the mail envelope. This envelope will be then sent by mail/courier to the electoral bureau.