Questions and answers - European elections

Official election campaign

When does the official election campaign start?

The official media campaign "generally" starts five weeks before the European elections.

Postal voting

Who can vote by post?

All voters whose names are on the electoral lists are permitted to vote by post as part of European elections.

How do I vote by post?

Voters who would like to vote by post must notify the communal administration of their place of residence and request a polling card by way of electronic submission on myguichet.lu, with a letter or using a pre-printed form that can be obtained from the administration.

Which municipality should I approach?

Voters must approach the registration municipality in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The registration municipality can be:

the voter's municipality of residence;
the municipality of the voter's last residence;
the voter's municipality of birth;
or, failing these, the City of Luxembourg.

What does the letter of request for the municipality need to include?

The request must include the surnames, names, date and place of birth, as well as the domicile of the voter, along with the address to which the polling card should be sent.

People domiciled abroad must produce a copy of their valid ID card or passport.

In their written and signed declaration, requesting parties must declare under oath that they have not been stripped of their right to vote.

What are the deadlines to apply for postal voting for European elections?

If the polling card needs to be sent to an address based in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the request must be submitted online or be sent by post to the College of Aldermen ("collège des bourgmestre et échevins"), under penalty of lapse, at the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 25 days prior to the election date.

If the polling card needs to be sent to an address abroad, the deadline for applying is 40 days at the latest prior to election day.

When do requesting parties receive the polling card after having sent a postal voting request for the European elections?

If the requesting party meets the conditions for voting, the College of Aldermen sends them the polling card

at the latest 15 days before election day if the polling card must be sent to an address in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;
at the latest 30 days before election day if the convening notice must be sent to an address abroad.

The polling card is sent via registered mail.

If the requesting party does not meet the conditions for postal voting, the College of Aldermen notifies its refusal

at the latest 20 days before election day if the polling card must be sent to an address in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;
at the latest 35 days before election day if the polling card must be sent to an address abroad.

What does the polling card include?

The polling card includes the list of candidates and instructions for voters, a ballot envelope and a ballot that are duly stamped, as well as an envelope for the delivery of the ballot envelope stating "Elections – Vote par correspondance" (Elections -postal voting), the name of the recipient polling station on the lower right corner and the order number, surname, names and address of the top left corner.

How should the ballot be filled out?

Voters must fill out the ballot in accordance with the instructions for voters.

When voting by post, how should the ballot be sent?

The ballot must be sent to the polling station as stated in the polling card. For postage, voters must put their folded ballot, with the stamp on the outside, in the ballot envelope. They must slide this envelope in the transmission envelope and send it as a regular letter.

Ballot envelopes must arrive at the polling station at the latest before 2 pm on election day.

Voting

How many Luxembourg representatives to the European Parliament are to be elected?

For the European elections, the country forms a single electoral constituency. Given that Luxembourg has 6 seats in the European Parliament, each voter can cast 6 votes.

Must I vote?

Voting is mandatory for all registered voters. All registered voters automatically receive a polling card and must vote. However, voters above 75 years of age are exempt from mandatory voting, even if they have received a polling card.

As a Luxembourger domiciled abroad, am I obliged to vote?

Luxembourg nationals who are domiciled abroad are not obliged to take part in the vote. Yet they are entitled to postal voting in European elections if they make a request to do so.

What shall I do if I am unable to vote on election day?

Those who are unable to vote in the election must explain the reason for their absence to their local State Prosecutor, and provide the necessary supporting documents. Unjustified abstentions are punishable by a fine. In the event of repeat offences, the penalty is increased.

The following persons have the right to be excluded:

voters who, at the time of the election, live in a municipality other than the one in which they are supposed to vote;
voters who are over 75 years of age.

Is it possible to vote by proxy?

No, registered voters may not be replaced.

Is electronic voting permitted in Luxembourg?

No, electronic voting is not permitted in Luxembourg.

What are the consequences of abstention from voting (financial penalties)?

Abstaining without justification is punishable by a penalty ranging from 100 to 250 euros. In the event of recurrence within five years of the sentence, the penalty ranges from 500 to 1,000 euros.

When is a ballot deemed null and void?

All ballots casting more votes than there are members to be elected are null and void; those whose form and dimensions have been altered, which contain a paper or any object on the inside, or whose author could be made recognisable by a sign, erasure or mark not authorised by law. Null and void ballots are not taken into account to set the number of votes.

Electoral lists

What requirements need to be met in order to vote in European elections?

No one can vote unless they are registered on electoral lists.

While Luxembourg nationals who are domiciled in Luxembourg are automatically registered on electoral lists, nationals of another EU member state who wish to take part in the European elections are entitled to request to be registered on the electoral lists of the European elections, provided that they:

are at least 18 years of age on the day of elections;
are domiciled in the Grand Duchy and were residing there at the time of their request to be registered on the electoral lists;
enjoy civil rights and not have been deprived of the right to vote either in Luxembourg or in their home EU Member State.

They can also elect European MPs in their home country. In that case, they need to address the relevant authorities in their home country, in particular their consulate.

As no one can vote twice in the European elections, nationals from other EU member states who got registered on the electoral lists for the election of Luxembourg representatives to the European Parliament cannot take part in the European elections of their home country as well.

Who is excluded from the vote?

The following people may not be voters or stand as candidates:

people who have been convicted of criminal offences;
people who are deprived of the right to vote as a result of correctional sanctions;
adults under guardianship.

Under which name am I registered on electoral lists?

Married or widowed voters are registered under their surname and first names - maiden name for women - followed by, if they wish, the addition of spouse or widow, followed by the surname and first names of the spouse.

How to file a claim in the context of electoral lists?

Electoral lists are temporarily established by the College of Aldermen 87 days prior to polling day. The lists are submitted for public inspection, either to the secretariat of the municipality or to the place where meetings of the municipal council are held from the 86th to the 79th day prior to polling day. Any citizen may file any complaint with the College of Aldermen arising from the electoral lists up to the 79th day at the latest before polling day.

A notice invites citizens to produce, up to the 79th day at the latest before polling day, against a receipt, the titles of those who have the right to appear on the lists in force but are not registered on them. The notice also mentions that to be admissible before the Administrative Court, a complaint regarding the registration of a voter must first be submitted for consideration to the College of Aldermen along with all the supporting documents.

Do I need to de-register from the electoral lists of my municipality in the event of relocation?

No. In the case of a change of domicile, the transfer of the right to vote in the new municipality is mandatory. The mayor of the former municipality notifies the change of domicile to the new municipality. The mayor of the municipality where the elector establishes their new residence adds the elector to that municipality's electoral list. The mayor of the municipality where the elector had their former residence strikes the elector off that municipality's electoral list.

Election day

Which polling station should I attend?

The Colleges of Aldermen send each voter a polling card stating the day, opening and closing times of the election, the premises where the election takes place and, in case there are several polling stations, the specific station where the voter is called to vote.

Moreover, polling cards are published in each voting locality.

What are the opening hours of the polling stations?

Voters can vote from 8 am to 2 pm.

Which ID card must be provided on election day?

On election day, voters must go to the polling station with their ID card, passport or residence permit. Producing the polling card is not required.

Is voting assistance permitted for physically or visually impaired voters?

Voters determined to be visually impaired or disabled may be authorised by the chief polling officer to be accompanied by a guide or aide who may even help them to vote if they are unable to do so themselves. The following people may not be guides or aides for visually impaired or disabled voters: candidates running for elections, their parents or relatives up to the second degree included, holders of a national, European or municipal elective mandate, people who do not know how to read or write, as well as those who are excluded from the electorate according to the provisions of Article 6 of electoral law. The names of the voter and their guide or aide, as well as the kind of disability or impairment invoked must be recorded in the minutes.

Visually impaired voters are also allowed to cast their vote by using the tactile voting device provided by the body designated under a Grand Ducal regulation. Visually impaired voters who attend the polling station without any tactile voting device can use the device that is made available by the polling station, that they must return to the chief polling officer after casting their vote. A member of the polling station can accompany visually impaired voters in a cubicle to help them insert the ballot paper inside the tactile voting device.

Voting for EU nationals

I am not a Luxembourg national but an EU national, I voted in the last European elections, am I obliged to register again?

Foreign nationals who were registered on an electoral list remain on it, under the same conditions as Luxembourgish voters, until they request to be struck off or until they are automatically struck off the list because they no longer meet the requirements to have the right to vote. Voting is mandatory for all EU nationals registered on the electoral lists.

As an EU national residing in the Grand Duchy, can I be removed from the electoral roll?

EU nationals who are non-Luxembourgish citizens can request to be removed from the electoral lists. They need to approach their municipality of residence in this regard. Their name is automatically stuck off if they no longer meet the requirements to have the right to vote (relocation). For Luxembourg nationals, voting is mandatory.

Is it possible to register twice?

EU nationals residing in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg who are registered on electoral lists in Luxembourg may not vote (by post) for the European elections in their home country.