The first round of the presidential election takes place this Sunday. Here is everything you need to know about the election, the steps to take, the ballot and the results.
How to know your polling station?
It is listed on your voter card. If you have lost it or not yet received it, you can check its address on the service-public.fr website with your personal data.
A polling station is composed of a president (often the mayor, a deputy or a municipal councilor), at least two assessors and a secretary. In general, a polling station has less than 1000 voters.
The novelty: an electoral card with QR code
If you are registered on the electoral lists, your card should have been sent to you by post by your town hall. It includes a novelty: a QR code. It refers to the dedicated government site to allow you to check your situation, find your polling station, register online or even request a power of attorney in the event of absence. Attention: it is the same QR code for everyone, it is not individualized. Once on the website, you will need to fill in your information.
The electoral card must indicate the surname and first names of the elector, his address, his date of birth, the national number of the elector and the location of the polling station. It is valid until a new one is received (generally every 3 to 5 years).
If you have not received your electoral card or have misplaced it, don’t worry, it is not necessary to vote. The only obligation is to present an identity document.
What are the identity papers to present to vote?
The electoral card is not an identity document. In order to avoid electoral fraud, you must prove your identity. Therefore, you can bring the choice of:
- National identity card (valid or expired for less than 5 years)
- Passport (valid or expired for less than 5 years)
- Parliamentary identity card (valid) with photograph, issued by the president of a parliamentary assembly
- Vital card with photograph
- Driver’s license
- Receipt valid as proof of identity (valid), issued in exchange for identity documents in the event of judicial review
- Parliamentary identity card (valid) with photograph, issued by the president of a parliamentary assembly
- Local elected official’s identity card (valid) with photograph, issued by the State representative
- Combatant’s card (valid) with photograph, issued by the National Office for Veterans and War Victims
- Disability card (valid) with photograph or mobility inclusion card (valid) with photograph
- Civil servant identity card (valid) with photograph
- Identity card with photograph or circulation card (valid) with photograph, issued by the military authorities
- Hunting license (valid) with photograph, issued by the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS). The hunting permit issued by the National Biodiversity Office is not valid.
There is an exception: in municipalities with less than 1000 inhabitants, an identity document is not compulsory. But you will have to present one if the president of the polling station asks you to.
How does the voting take place?
You can vote at any time during the opening hours of your polling station, namely from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., or 8 p.m. depending on the size of the city.
When you arrive, you must show identification. The electoral card is not compulsory, but recommended.
As a voter, you do not have the right to enter with a weapon, nor to discuss within the office.
After taking the ballots of at least two of the candidates on a table (or having with you those sent to you by mail) as well as an envelope, you must go to one of the available voting booths. After closing the curtains behind you, you place the ballot of your choice in the envelope. Be careful, you must not write anything on the ballot or on the envelope, otherwise the vote will be counted as zero. If you choose not to put anything in it, then it will be white.
Once out of the voting booth, you go to the table where the ballot box (transparent and with two locks) and the attendance list are located. You have to show your papers again. Then you can put your envelope in the ballot box. The members of the organization will then say your name followed by “voted”.
So you have to sign the attendance list, receive a stamp with the date on your voter card, then you can leave the premises.
Covid: a lighter health protocol
Compared to previous elections, the health protocol against Covid has been lightened. Wearing a mask is not compulsory, but recommended. If you are wearing it, the organizers may ask you to put it down quickly to verify your identity.
No proof of vaccination or test result will be required. So no pass. Neither for the voters, nor for the members of the organization.
There is no limit to the number of people in the polling station. However, the entrance and the exit must still be separated to avoid “situations of great promiscuity”.
Masks will be made available, as well as hydroalcoholic gel. The equipment must be cleaned “frequently” and the rooms ventilated regularly. Those who participate in the organization will have access to self-tests, if they wish.
You have moved and forgot to report the new address
When you move to another neighborhood or another town, you are automatically removed from the previous voters list because you have to live in the town or pay taxes there. You must therefore register again.
The date of your move is key. If you moved after March 4, you can vote at your old polling station. On the other hand, if you moved before March 4, you have probably been removed from the lists and will not be able to vote.
To check if you have been deregistered, you must check on the government site that your name appears on a list or not.
Have you been wrongly removed from the lists?
You have not moved or you have applied for registration in time, but you are not on the electoral lists? Appeals are possible.
If you have received a letter from the town hall informing you of the mayor’s refusal to register, you can contest his decision by filing a preliminary administrative appeal, then, if necessary, a legal appeal.
If you received a cancellation letter, you had 15 days to provide proof to the town hall that your registration is still valid (proof of identity and proof of address less than 3 months old).
If you have not received anything and you are not registered when your registration was on time, you can appeal to a court of law, including this Sunday.
On the other hand, if you forgot to register on the electoral lists, the registration deadline was March 2.
For Sunday workers: a legal obligation for the boss to let the employee vote
A provision of August 6, 2015 indicates that each employer is under a legal obligation to free up time for an employee who works on a Sunday to enable him to vote. So if a boss changes the schedules or refuses this break on the grounds that the employee could make a power of attorney, he is in his right to be absent to vote.
What is a blank vote and an invalid ballot?
When a voter comes to vote, but puts either a blank ballot that they brought themselves, or nothing in the envelope, it becomes a blank vote.
A spoiled ballot is a vote where the ballots or envelopes have been altered (erasures, writings, drawings, etc.) or are non-regulatory (not the right size or the right color, etc.).
Prior to April 1, 2014, the electoral code made no distinction between the two. From now on, in accordance with the law of February 21, 2014, blank and invalid votes are counted separately. Blank votes are therefore indicated in the results of the vote, in the minutes.
However, both are not counted in the votes cast.
What are votes cast?
The votes cast indicate the number of voters (persons registered on the electoral lists) who have cast neither a blank vote nor a null vote. Abstainers are not counted in it.
When will you know the results?
From 8 p.m. and not before, it is the law.
Most polling stations open at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. A few cities make exceptions and close the votes at 8 p.m. Counting begins at closing time. Once complete, a report is drawn up by the secretary of the office, indicating the number of votes cast, the number of blank and null votes and the number of votes obtained by each candidate.
However, article L. 52-2 of the electoral code prohibits any dissemination of results, even partial, before the closing of the last polling station. That is 8 p.m. This was put in place so as not to influence voters during the day. Any violation is punishable by a fine of 75,000 euros (article 90-1).
However, foreign media do not have these constraints. This is why the Belgian or Swiss media often broadcast estimates during the day, relayed on social networks.
Can’t go? Here’s how to vote
Vicarious : you can ask someone you trust to vote for you. To do this, you must complete an online proxy voting request, then validate it with a police station, a gendarmerie or a consulate. It’s too late for this Sunday, but still possible for the second round.
By mail : this type of vote, widely used for example in the United States, is only authorized in France for legislative elections. Only French nationals abroad can do so.
By Internet : as with postal voting, only French nationals abroad have access to it, and only for legislative and consular elections.
Proxy voting: how to make the request and how to vote for a loved one
Will you be absent for the second round? You can ask a friend or neighbor to vote for you.
First of all, you must both be registered on an electoral list, but not necessarily the same one. Since January 1, 2022, it is no longer mandatory to be registered in the same municipality to vote by proxy. If, for example, you live in a big city and a friend has to vote for you but lives in another district or another city, it is no longer a problem, as long as he comes to your polling station. in person.
The process is carried out in four steps:
- ask your friend (the “proxy”) for their voter number (listed on their voter card, also available online) and date of birth. If he does not have them, he needs all his civil status data (surname, first names, date of birth) and his voting commune.
- apply online on the maprocuration website
- have their identity validated in person at a police station, gendarmerie or consulate. It is mandatory to avoid electoral fraud (someone pretending to be you).
- An email informs you and your proxy that the power of attorney is accepted.
There is no deadline for making a power of attorney. However, you have to pay attention to the processing time: the time to make your request, then to go to the police station to validate your identity, and finally the time for the voting municipality to take the power of attorney into account and indicate the name of your proxy on the attendance list. In short, do not go about it the day before, or the weekend.