What happens on election day and how do I vote?

Voting will take place between 9.00am and 8.00pm in the room under Bédar Town Hall. The entrance is on the road at the side of the Town Hall.  Take your voting card, your passport and your NIE or Residencia.

Check your name on the list posted at the door (foreigners have their own separate list)

You will find piles of voting papers from each of the two parties, the PSOE and the PP and a pile of envelopes.

Chose one 'papeleta' (voting paper). If you are voting for us – chose the PP paper and you will see the list of names including myself and John down as Independents. 

DO NOT PUT ANY MARK ON THE PAPER. 

This is very important. If your paper is marked in any way it will be declared void. You are voting for the team, not a person.

Fold it in two and put it in the envelope - this is your vote.  Do not think you can save envelopes by putting two votes in one envelope.  This will also be declared void.

Take it to the polling table. They will check your ID and cross you off the list. You put your envelope in the ballot box.

There will be people called 'interventores' on hand, wearing badges from their parties, all offering to help. They can show you where to go, but cannot come in the booth with you. Remember your vote is private.

How can I check that I am registered to vote if I have not received a voting card?

Some people who thought they were registered to vote have not received a voting card. Below is how to check.

Send an email to the Census Office at sede.censoelectoral@ine.es quoting your name, your passport number and your NIE number. Emails are accepted in English or Spanish and a response may be sent in Spanish.
 
SPANISH EXAMPLE

Muy señor mío,
Queremos confirmar que vamos a ser capaces de votar en mayo de 2011.

Nombre .... NIE .... Pasaporte ....

Nombre .... NIE .... Pasaporte ....

Gracias por tu ayuda.

Un cordial saludo,

REPLY EXAMPLE

Si, ustedes podrán votar en las proximas elecciones municipales de 22 de mayo de 2011.

Un saludo,

ENGLISH EXAMPLE

Dear Sir,
We wish to confirm that we will be able to vote in May 2011.

Name .... NIE: .... Passport ....

Name .... NIE .... Passport ....

Thank you for your help.

Regards,

How do the elections work and how are the councillors chosen?

Each party or group standing in the municipal elections makes up a list of candidates equal to the number of councillor seats in the town. The total number of councillors depends on the town’s population. In the past, Bedar had seven councillors; this year, the population exceeds 1000, so there will be nine councillors, one of which will be the mayor.

On polling day, May 22, at the polling venue in the town hall, each party will have papeletas or ballot papers (which may have already been given to you in advance along with special envelopes) with lists of the names of each party’s chosen candidates. You vote for the party and not the individual candidates. It is essential that you do NOT tick any of the individual names on the ballot paper or your vote will be considered null and void.

At the end of the polling day, the votes are counted with the total number of council seats awarded proportionately. The party with the greatest number of councillors becomes the majority party with the number one on their list generally becoming the Mayor.

At the last elections in 2007, five parties were presented of which three got enough votes to gain councillors.

Now let us look at the results:

Total number of those who voted (Votantes) 474  (68,80%)
Abstentions 215  (31,20%)
Null and void votes 1  (0,21%)
Blank Votes (Votos en blanco) 2  (0,42%)

Candidatures		Votes	Councillors
PSOE	302	63,85%	5
LEVANTE SOS	72	15,22%	1
ANDALUCISTA PARTY	62	13,11%	1
PP	24	5,07%	0
PDEAL	11	2,33%	0
TOTAL	471	99.58%	7

The PSOE winning party received 64% of the votes cast. Their 302 votes translated into five councillors or roughly 60 votes per councillor. LSOS came in second with 72 votes and one councillor. The Partido Andalucista’s 60 votes also equated into one councillor. The first five names on the PSOE list went into the town hall with their number one, Angel Collado, chosen as mayor.

I do not understand why the British candidates on the independent PP list want to go against the British candidates on the PSOE list? What is the point of dividing the foreign vote?

Please first read the previous answer which explains what happened in the 2007 elections. The sixth and seventh place names in the PSOE list did not become councillors because the party did not receive enough votes for that to happen. They therefore did not become part of the governing team and had no voice.

Now consider the present PSOE list for the May 2011 elections. Remember that because of the increased population in Bedar, nine candidates are now required instead of seven.
1. Don ANGEL FRANCISCO COLLADO FERNANDEZ
2. Doña ANA MARIA JODAR CINTAS
3. Don PEDRO MORENO FERNANDEZ
4. Doña ISABEL GONZALEZ MARTINEZ
5. Don JOSE RAMON MUÑOZ ARTERO
6. Don IVAN GALLARDO COLLADO
7. Doña ROCIO MECA LOPEZ
8. Doña LOIS BENSON
9. Don MICHAEL HOWARD LIGHTFOOT

Note the last place positions on the PSOE list of the two non-Spanish. In order for them to enter the town hall, the PSOE would have to win virtually 100% of the votes. Considering that they previously won 64% of the vote, this is unlikely to happen.
We can therefore conclude that these non-Spanish are being included as a token gesture to gain more votes from the non-Spanish voters – who currently make up some 40% of the 617 registered voters in Bedar – without any intention to ever let these two people have any voice.

In our group, we have a British name as number two on the list. If our group gets a minimum of 110-120 votes, our number two will at least go in as a councillor. If we are able to win some 300 votes and therefore become the majority party, our number two would be Deputy Mayor while our number five, another Brit, would also go in as a councillor. This would be real representation for the non-Spanish residents of Bedar.

How much influence does the Opposition have in the town hall?

At the last elections the PSOE party gained five councillors and each of the two opposition parties got one each. This absolute majority meant that issues voted on during the plenary meetings were literally decided in advance with opposition members ignored. Opposition councillors were not allowed to speak during plenary meetings, nor were members of the public.  It is the mayor’s discretion over whether Opposition councillors or members of the public are allowed to speak at plenary meetings and our mayor consistently chose to silence any possible discussion.

Given this past experience, it is safe to assume that unless the Opposition is strong and works effectively, the majority party will continue to steamroll proceedings.  To be an effective Opposition party, we would need four councillors which means we need some 220 votes.  In 2007, the combined Opposition parties achieved 169 votes.  This means every vote will count.