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How to vote in Spain

General election (Congress of Deputies and Senate): Sunday, November 29, 2026.

Who can vote

Spanish citizens aged 18 or over who are on the electoral census. Foreigners and EU citizens living in Spain can vote only in some other elections, not in the general election.

Do I have to register?

You must be on the electoral census. Check the census between 12 and 19 October 2026 at your town hall, or at a consulate if you live abroad. If you are missing or your details are wrong, you can claim in the same period. The deadline is Monday, October 19, 2026. Look yourself up on the official lookup.

Voting from abroad

Spaniards who live abroad (the CERA census) get their papers by post, then vote by post or put the ballot in the box at the consulate between 21 and 26 November. Spaniards who live in Spain but are abroad for a while (ERTA) vote by post and must request the certificate by 31 October. The deadline is Saturday, October 31, 2026. The official page for it is here.

How you vote

1. Check you are on the census between 12 and 19 October. If not, claim in that period.
2. Between 2 and 10 November you are told your polling table and polling place. Changes are notified between 10 and 23 November.
3. On Sunday 29 November, vote at your table between 9:00 and 20:00. Voting runs without a break.
4. Show your ID card (DNI), passport or driving licence. It must carry your photo.
5. Take an envelope and the ballot paper of the list you choose. You hand the closed envelope to the president of the table yourself. A Senate ballot with more than three names marked is void.
6. If you cannot go to your table, you can vote by post. Ask for it between 6 October and 19 November, and post your vote by 25 November.

What do I bring?

ID card (DNI), passport or driving licence, with your photo. Foreign residents who are allowed to vote also show their residence card.

By mail, or through someone else

Postal vote: ask for it from 6 October to 19 November at the Post Office. The papers are sent 9 to 22 November, and you must post your vote by 25 November. After you request it you cannot vote in person. No proxy voting is described on the pages read.

Where this comes from

• boe.es: “Quedan disueltos el Congreso de los Diputados y el Senado elegidos el día 23 de julio de 2023.”
• Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board): “29 de noviembre de 2026”
• boe.es: “El derecho de sufragio corresponde a los españoles mayores de edad”
• boe.es: “Para su ejercicio es indispensable la inscripción en el censo electoral vigente.”
• boe.es: “se iniciará a las nueve horas la votación, que continuará sin interrupción hasta las veinte horas”
• boe.es: “documento nacional de identidad, pasaporte o permiso de conducir en que aparezca la fotografía del titular”
• boe.es: “Inmediatamente, el elector entregará por su propia mano al Presidente el sobre o sobres de votación cerrados.”
• boe.es: “serán nulos los votos emitidos en papeletas en las que se hubieran señalado más de tres nombres”
• ine.es: “Reclamaciones inclusión / exclusión censo electoral || Del 12 al 19 de octubre”
• ine.es: “Comunicación a los electores de mesa y local electoral || Del 2 al 10 de noviembre”
• ine.es: “Solicitud de voto por correo || Del 6 de octubre al 19 de noviembre; Envío documentación para el voto por correo || Del 9 al 22 de noviembre; Remisión por electores del voto por correo || Del 9 al 25 de noviembre”
• ine.es: “Residentes, temporalmente en el extranjero: Solicitud de voto por correo || Del 6 al 31 de octubre”
• ine.es: “Remisión por electores del voto por correo a consulados || Del 4 al 24 de noviembre; Depósito del voto en la urna || Del 21 al 26 de noviembre”
• Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board): “pueden emitir su voto por correo, previa solicitud a la Delegación Provincial de la Oficina del Censo Electoral”
• exteriores.gob.es: “electores temporalmente en el extranjero (ERTA)”

Checked October 11, 2026.

After that: Municipal elections, with regional elections in ten regions

Expected Sunday, May 23, 2027. No official page prints that day yet. It follows from the rule in the law, which reads: “el día quincuagésimo quinto antes del cuarto domingo de mayo” (boe.es).

Who can vote

Spanish citizens aged 18 or over on the electoral census. Foreigners and EU citizens can vote in some elections under conditions set by law, which the pages I read do not detail.

Do I have to register?

You must be on the electoral census. The census consultation dates for May 2027 have not been published yet. Look yourself up on the official lookup.

Voting from abroad

Spaniards on the CERA census abroad can vote in several kinds of elections. The pages I read do not say which of these apply to the May 2027 municipal and regional elections. The official page for it is here.

How you vote

1. Local elections are held on the fourth Sunday of May. In 2027 that is Sunday 23 May.
2. The formal call has not been issued yet. It comes 55 days before election day, so around the end of March 2027.
3. Check the electoral census and your polling place once the dates are published.
4. Bring your ID card (DNI), passport or driving licence with your photo, and vote at your table. Polling hours for the general election are 9:00 to 20:00, set by the same electoral law.

What do I bring?

ID card (DNI), passport or driving licence, with your photo (electoral law art. 85). Foreign residents also show their residence card.

By mail, or through someone else

Postal voting exists under the electoral law (request through the Post Office from the call until the tenth day before voting). Dates for May 2027 are not published yet.

Where this comes from

• boe.es: “el día quincuagésimo quinto antes del cuarto domingo de mayo”
• boe.es: “El derecho de sufragio corresponde a los españoles mayores de edad”
• boe.es: “documento nacional de identidad, pasaporte o permiso de conducir en que aparezca la fotografía del titular”
• Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board): “pueden emitir su voto por correo, previa solicitud a la Delegación Provincial de la Oficina del Censo Electoral”

Checked October 11, 2026.

The last word

Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board) has it, not me. If anything here differs from what it says, it is right.

I tell you how to vote. I never tell you who to vote for. See who is running in Spain, or argue it out in the discussion.