Postal voting envelopes being sent – The process and deadlines

After the recent completion of the registration of those interested to vote by mail in the upcoming European elections, the process which concerns the sending of postal vote envelopes to over 200,000 registered voters has entered the next phase.

In the last few days, an email, sms or viber message was sent to the voters that the shipment of their envelope has been launched and that they have the possibility via a link to follow the progress of the shipment until it arrives at their door. Some of them have already received the special file.

As stated in the enclosed instructions of the Ministry of Interior, the material can be received only by the registrant or by a person authorized for this purpose. The verification of the recipient’s identity is carried out by the distributors of the sponsoring companies that distribute the postal voting materials. In the event that information is not verified, the contractor will be subject to a fine of 10,000 euros for each file for which the omission was found.

The envelope that the 202,556 voters will receive contains:

1. An instruction sheet, which includes the lists of MEP candidates of all parties. 2. The ballot, which is uniform and includes all the parties participating in the elections and a special space for the voters to choose the candidates of each combination. 3. The voting envelope, in which the ballot paper must be placed 4. The application – responsible declaration of postal vote which can also be submitted digitally through the epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr platform and 5. The postal vote return envelope, which should be sent in time to the postal vote collection area.

The return of the envelope with the ballot paper is free of charge for voters within the Greek territory, who either contact the company (the contact details are listed in the original message) and arrange a day and time for delivery to their place by an employee, or deliver it in person to one of the company’s stores.

The postal votes, in order to be counted, must reach their destination (place of collection of postal votes), on the eve of the elections, specifically by Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 17:00 Greek time. To be within the deadline, voters should mail the ballot envelope four to 11 days in advance, depending on the case. For those residing in Greece, the deadline for sending is Monday, June 3 if the envelope is received by an employee of the postal company, and Tuesday, June 4 if the envelope is deposited directly at the company’s offices. For those living abroad, the envelope must be sent no later than Tuesday, May 28. The Ministry of the Interior recommends that the file be sent registered and express.

If the envelope does not arrive in time at the postal vote collection site, it is returned to the sender unopened. In this case, participation in the elections is done only by attending the polling station.

Those who lose the ballot or the application – responsible declaration can print them through the postal voting platform epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr, by selecting “Postal Voting Instructions” and then “Postal Voting Files”. People with disabilities can visit the website specially designed for them epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr/myvote, where they can fill in and print their ballot in an easy and simple way.