Voters can vote in the European elections anywhere and find out if there are queues
Voters will be able to vote in the European elections wherever they are on 09 June and even find out if there are queues at the polling stations where they intend to exercise their right to vote.
![Voters can vote in the European elections anywhere and find out if there are queues](https://media-manager.noticiasaominuto.com/960/19346951.jpg)
© Lusa
![Notícias ao Minuto](https://cdn.noticiasaominuto.com/img/equipa/pessoa/lusa.png)
País CNE
Speaking to Lusa, the spokesperson for the National Elections Commission (CNE), Fernando Anastácio, explained that voters will be able to find out 'online' and "in real time" whether there are queues to vote on June 9.
It is "yet another tool to combat abstention", trying to motivate voters to vote in an election with historically high abstention rates and which this year takes place on the eve of the Portugal Day holiday and a mini-holiday period, he said.
On election day, "'online', real-time information on the turnout at the different polling stations" will be available and will allow "a citizen to check, in the area where they are, which polling stations have the lowest turnout and, therefore, avoid crowds", he explained.
In the 2019 European elections, Portugal recorded the worst abstention rate (68.6%) since it joined the European Union, in contrast to the turnout in Europe - around 50%.
To try to reverse this trend - in addition to early voting by the sick, prisoners and those abroad, or mobile voting, on the previous Sunday (June 2) - this year there is a new option, which is only possible because there are "dematerialised electoral registers".
Any voter registered in Portugal can vote "without being in the place where they are registered", he explained.
"They can opt without any pre-registration condition, for example, they live in Lisbon, are registered in Lisbon, but on the 9th they are in Porto, they can choose to go to any polling station in Porto: show up at the polling station, identify themselves with their citizen's card or with a document that is considered valid for identification purposes and exercise their right to vote", he said.
The elections were scheduled at European level for the period from June 6 to 9.
And this is, according to the CNE spokesperson, "a particularly difficult period for Portugal", as it coincides with "a week that is usually a mini-holiday period.
Read Also: European Elections? The left wants to "nationalise the campaign" due to lack of programme (Portuguese version)
Descarregue a nossa App gratuita.
Oitavo ano consecutivo Escolha do Consumidor para Imprensa Online e eleito o produto do ano 2024.
* Estudo da e Netsonda, nov. e dez. 2023 produtodoano- pt.com