Postal Voting Pushed Amid Reports of Spain Post Office Glitches
Spanish media promote postal voting before the campaign while reports emerge of failures on the Correos website, a method banned in France since 1975.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Postal voting heavily promoted as users report issues with the Correos website
Can an election be decided without anyone visiting a polling station? The early call for elections has placed postal voting at the center of public discourse, not through subtle media campaigns but via direct recommendations from television and radio. Ferreras stated that "we must teach people how to vote by mail," sparking the debate. COPE repeated this message, esRadio aired spots using their usual announcers' voices, and morning news programs outlined the steps to submit envelopes. Meanwhile, complaints about saturation on the Correos website have surfaced even before the pre-campaign begins.
The circulating messages point to the same issue: according to these reports, the website crashes and the system jams before the official campaign starts. This has two practical consequences. Those who requested ballots on time may end up without one, while those who deposit them add to a pool of votes whose traceability is questioned. The response attributed to the PSOE when asked about its internal crisis—that the problem is not the party but "society, which did not vote for us"—spread faster than any factual data.
Complaints of Correos saturation before the campaign
The most circulated argument is logistical rather than legal. If ballots are issued and sent to polling stations, who guarantees the traceability of each envelope? The suspicion that such volume could make the count uncontrollable—and that the next step might be electronic voting using digital identity as a key—is formulated in the debate with notable bluntness. It should be clear: there is no proof of such a roadmap. It remains a hypothesis, sustained as such, not as established fact.
What is debated is the practical effect of a system dependent on a postal operator. Some argue that the jam harms those who trinc instructions, not those who organize it. The scenario depicted involves voters who heeded TV recommendations, requested documentation, and, facing deadlines, remain without ballots. The result would not be lost votes, but involuntary abstention.
Why did France ban postal voting?
France abolished it in 1975 trinc fraud and has never restored it. France is cited to debunk the idea that postal voting is normalized in Europe; there, it is considered a source of fraud with no possibility of amendment. A structural factor adds to this: the French postal service is heavily unionized under the CGT, fueling right-wing distrust of any count processed this way. After the pandemic, proposals to revive the system emerged, but the Senate majority opposes them. Comparisons with Spain appear in the debate, offering little reassurance.
Another comparison traverses the analysis transatlantically. The US and Brazilian models are frequently cited, where postal voting was central to elections contested for months. From there, many leap into conspiracy theories without restraint, discussing an electronic counting program by a specific tech firm designed for the West. None of this is backed by evidence and should be read as rumor, not information.
€440 million for 'awareness' and captive votes
A figure providing context appears in the debate: €440 million on the table, partly intended to raise citizen awareness about voting and promoting postal voting as the natural method. This is a discussed figure, not finalized official data. With this number in play, some participants view media insistence less as coincidence.
The other flank is less discussed but more uncomfortable: captive voting. Elderly citizens and people with disabilities have relied on postal voting logistics for years, depending on whoever processes it for them. Traditionally, religious institutions and local party structures have been identified as mobilizing this electorate. As this group grows, so does the question of who guides it.
Voters reportedly left without ballots due to congestion
A detail disrupts the forecast of record participation mentioned in the debate. If congestion is confirmed, some of the voters who tried hardest to cast their ballot—those who requested mail-in ballots on time and trinc TV advice—will be the first unable to vote. Unwanted abstention, certainly, but abstention nonetheless. The debate points to Socialist voters who trinc media recommendations as part of this unwanted abstention.
The question raised in the debate remains: if the early call prevents reforming postal voting laws, why devote so much energy to advertising a procedure that cannot be changed? With this level of media enthusiasm, it will be rare for anyone to queue at a polling station. One almost feels inclined to ask them for their envelopes.
Can an election be decided without anyone visiting a polling station? The early call for elections has placed postal voting at the center of public discourse, not through subtle media campaigns but via direct recommendations from television and radio. Ferreras stated that "we must teach people how to vote by mail," sparking the debate. COPE repeated this message, esRadio aired spots using their usual announcers' voices, and morning news programs outlined the steps to submit envelopes. Meanwhile, complaints about saturation on the Correos website have surfaced even before the pre-campaign begins.
The circulating messages point to the same issue: according to these reports, the website crashes and the system jams before the official campaign starts. This has two practical consequences. Those who requested ballots on time may end up without one, while those who deposit them add to a pool of votes whose traceability is questioned. The response attributed to the PSOE when asked about its internal crisis—that the problem is not the party but "society, which did not vote for us"—spread faster than any factual data.
Complaints of Correos saturation before the campaign
The most circulated argument is logistical rather than legal. If ballots are issued and sent to polling stations, who guarantees the traceability of each envelope? The suspicion that such volume could make the count uncontrollable—and that the next step might be electronic voting using digital identity as a key—is formulated in the debate with notable bluntness. It should be clear: there is no proof of such a roadmap. It remains a hypothesis, sustained as such, not as established fact.
What is debated is the practical effect of a system dependent on a postal operator. Some argue that the jam harms those who trinc instructions, not those who organize it. The scenario depicted involves voters who heeded TV recommendations, requested documentation, and, facing deadlines, remain without ballots. The result would not be lost votes, but involuntary abstention.
Why did France ban postal voting?
France abolished it in 1975 trinc fraud and has never restored it. France is cited to debunk the idea that postal voting is normalized in Europe; there, it is considered a source of fraud with no possibility of amendment. A structural factor adds to this: the French postal service is heavily unionized under the CGT, fueling right-wing distrust of any count processed this way. After the pandemic, proposals to revive the system emerged, but the Senate majority opposes them. Comparisons with Spain appear in the debate, offering little reassurance.
Another comparison traverses the analysis transatlantically. The US and Brazilian models are frequently cited, where postal voting was central to elections contested for months. From there, many leap into conspiracy theories without restraint, discussing an electronic counting program by a specific tech firm designed for the West. None of this is backed by evidence and should be read as rumor, not information.
€440 million for 'awareness' and captive votes
A figure providing context appears in the debate: €440 million on the table, partly intended to raise citizen awareness about voting and promoting postal voting as the natural method. This is a discussed figure, not finalized official data. With this number in play, some participants view media insistence less as coincidence.
The other flank is less discussed but more uncomfortable: captive voting. Elderly citizens and people with disabilities have relied on postal voting logistics for years, depending on whoever processes it for them. Traditionally, religious institutions and local party structures have been identified as mobilizing this electorate. As this group grows, so does the question of who guides it.
Voters reportedly left without ballots due to congestion
A detail disrupts the forecast of record participation mentioned in the debate. If congestion is confirmed, some of the voters who tried hardest to cast their ballot—those who requested mail-in ballots on time and trinc TV advice—will be the first unable to vote. Unwanted abstention, certainly, but abstention nonetheless. The debate points to Socialist voters who trinc media recommendations as part of this unwanted abstention.
The question raised in the debate remains: if the early call prevents reforming postal voting laws, why devote so much energy to advertising a procedure that cannot be changed? With this level of media enthusiasm, it will be rare for anyone to queue at a polling station. One almost feels inclined to ask them for their envelopes.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (118 replies).
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