The PSOE has launched an email appeal to collect signatures in defense of postal voting ahead of the general elections on 29 November. The communication, consulted by Demócrata, combines a request for support for this electoral procedure with a message of backing for the professionals at Correos.
"There are those who want you to doubt and stay at home. Sign to defend postal voting," the dispatch is headed. The party directs its criticisms at Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Vox, whom it accuses of sowing doubts about this mode of participation.
The initiative arrives when there are five days left for the application period to end. Correos confirms that it can be requested until 19 November, inclusive, while the delivery of the ballot can be made until Wednesday 25 during the opening hours of its offices.
A collection of signatures and a message against abstention
The email includes a poster with the slogan "Defend postal voting and those who make it possible," accompanied by the image of a yellow mailbox on a red background. Several links and a button with the word "SIGN" invite support for the initiative.
The text presents doubts about the procedure as an attempt at demobilization. "They don't want you to vote by mail. They want you to doubt and stay at home," the PSOE argues.
This interpretation belongs to the party. The communication does not provide a figure for endorsements nor allows determining how many people have received the dispatch, which concludes with a call to participate in the elections: "Let nobody decide for you! On 29N, vote."
The PSOE points to Ayuso and Vox and compares them with Trump and Bolsonaro
The socialists assure in the message that Ayuso has asked not to use postal voting and that Vox calls for avoiding it. Based on those positions, they establish a comparison with Donald Trump and Bolsonaro, whom they attribute a strategy of questioning the system in order to generate distrust.
The calls from the president of Madrid and from Santiago Abascal to vote in person had already been collected by Antena 3 and VerificaRTVE following the election announcement. RTVE then addressed the guarantees of the procedure and the messages without evidence that were circulating about alleged manipulation of postal votes.
The PP's position has not been uniform across all institutions. In Zaragoza, the conservatives supported this week a socialist motion in defense of the legitimacy of postal voting for the 29N, according to Heraldo de Aragón.
The call includes a defense of Correos workers
The PSOE also claims the work of those who manage electoral mailings. The message states that Correos professionals “do not deserve to be under suspicion” and recalls that this system allows people to participate who work, travel, or cannot attend their polling station.
The petition for signatures is a political initiative distinct from the vote request. Joining the campaign does not replace any of the procedures that the voter must complete with Correos and the Electoral Census Office.
How long can you request and submit a vote by mail
The application can be submitted in person at a post office or online through the Correos website. For the telematic route, it is necessary to prove identity using the electronic signature systems approved.
After receiving the electoral documentation, the voter must place the envelope within the established time period. Correos requires identification upon personal delivery and includes an authorization procedure for those who cannot go to deposit it.
The postal company also allows tracking the shipment using its locator. In these general elections, the voter may voluntarily provide an email address to receive confirmation of the delivery of their vote at the polling station.