The EU elections on June 9 will bring a number of innovations for voters. For the first time, it is possible to hand in your voting card immediately upon collection; a “primary day” in other words. The wait for election results, including postal votes, is almost completely over on Monday. Because the postal votes (except for a very small portion) are all counted on election Sunday. There are also new services for requesting voting cards.
The changes have already been adopted in the 2023 electoral law reform. The EU elections are now the first national elections in which they will be applied. If you do not want to go to your polling station on election day, you can vote by post as usual or cast your vote at a third party polling station. As usual, this is possible by requesting a voting card.
You can vote when you pick up your voting card
What is new is that if you do not receive your voting card, but collect it yourself from the municipality or city office, you can vote on site this time and hand in the completed voting card again – in principle one or actually several “days prior to the elections”. According to the Ministry of the Interior, this will be possible when voting cards and official ballot papers are rolled out across the board from around May 17.
Better localization of voting cards
Another innovation also affects voting cards: in the future it will be easier to see where the card is currently located. When ordering by post, voters can electronically track the status of their voting card (e.g. “issued”, “received by the local election authority”). This can be done via ID-Austria or by appearing in person at the responsible municipality (ID required).
With the usual house announcements in the houses announcing the elections, it will no longer be clear in the future how many people in an apartment are eligible to vote. In return, your own registration in the electoral register can be checked at ID-Austria. The necessary QR code, which leads to an access link, can be seen on the announcement.
Improvements also for people with disabilities
There are improvements for people with disabilities: barrier-free access to polling stations and voting cells should be made possible. Postal voting should also include voting templates, voting cards and more information in plain language. In addition, a minimum font size is required for certain types of printing.
The majority of postal voting cards had already been counted on Sunday
The results of election Sunday will be very close to the final. For the first time in a federal election, the majority of votes by post will be counted on Sunday. According to the electoral authority, it is difficult to estimate how many will follow on Monday. However, it can be assumed that the majority of postal voting cards will be assessed by local election authorities on Sunday, leading to a much more accurate result.
What remains are the voting cards received at the district polling station between Friday afternoon (June 7, 2024) and Sunday (June 9, 2024, 5 p.m.) (probably including many voting cards from abroad), as well as voting cards received on Saturday (June 8, 2024). must be in the mailbox no later than 9:00 am. Absentee ballots used for mail-in voting but not mailed but delivered directly to a polling place on Sunday will not be counted until later.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
