Postal vote from abroad doubles since 2015 election

The amount of people voting by post from overseas in the December 21 Catalan election has almost doubled since the last election in 2015.

According to provisional data released by parliament, a total of 40,320 people have requested the postal vote from abroad, including both temporary and permanent residents living outside the country, an increase of 41.4% compared to two years ago.

Meanwhile, the number of registered residents voting by post from within Spain has fallen by 30%. One of the many factors that make this election exceptional compared to others, is the fact that voting will take place on a weekday and not a weekend or holiday. For this reason, people are more likely to be in the country, and not away.

In Brussels, voting in the Catalan election already began this weekend, under the watchful eye of volunteer observers.

Dozens of Catalans turned up to vote on Sunday, some wearing yellow in support for the political prisoners held in Madrid. Among them, voter Èrica Casajoana said that “luckily” her ballots were sent to her in time; indeed, ballots not arriving in time or at all was a much-discussed issue in the 2015 election.