All registered voters are allowed to vote by post as part of a referendum.
Prerequisites
In order to participate in a referendum, a Luxembourgish voter must be properly registered on the electoral registers for legislative elections.
Deadlines
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.
How to proceed
Electors who would like to vote by post must notify the municipal 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.
They should approach the municipality where they are registered 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.
In the letter, the voter must:
- state their last name, given name(s), date and place of birth, profession, address, and address to which the polling card should be sent;
- declare under oath that they have not been stripped of their right to vote;
- for Luxembourg voters residing abroad, provide a copy of their valid passport.
Upon receipt of the request, the College of Aldermen verifies whether the request includes the required information and documents, and whether the applicant is on the electoral lists for legislative elections.
Rejection of the application
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.
Polling card for the referendum
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 polling card must be sent to an address abroad.
The polling card is sent via registered mail. The polling card includes:
- the list of questions;
- instructions for postal vote in a referendum;
- an opaque election envelope of uniform type, duly stamped;
- a ballot form, duly stamped;
- an envelope to put the electoral envelope into, bearing the words 'Référendum - Vote par correspondance' ('Referendum – Postal vote'), the polling station to which the vote will be sent in the bottom right corner, and the order number, last name, given name(s) and address of the voter, with the initials of the president of the principal polling station of the municipality in the top left corner.
An alphabetical list of voters having requested postal vote is prepared, including the last name, given name(s), date and place of birth, domicile and current address of each voter. The response given to each request is noted opposite the applicant's name. Voters appearing on this list may not choose another voting method.
Filling out and returning the ballot
Voters must fill out the ballot in the following manner:
- either by filling in one of the two boxes on the ballot next to each question;
- or by placing a cross (+ or x) in one of the two boxes next to each question.
Any bubble that is filled in, even incompletely, or marked with a cross, even imperfectly, is deemed a valid vote, unless the intent to cast the vote is not clear.
Voters may express their votes using a pencil, a ballpoint pen or similar writing implement.
The following ballots will be deemed null and void:
- ballots other than those provided by the municipality;
- those expressing more than one vote per question asked;
- those whose shape and dimensions have been altered;
- those containing any paper or other foreign object; and
- those whose authors may be rendered recognisable by a sign, a deletion or a mark not authorised by law.
Ballots containing no votes are considered blank.
However, ballots that express fewer votes than there are questions are valid. In other words, voters are not required to answer every question asked.
To send the ballot to the polling station, voters place the duly completed ballot, folded in four, with the stamp on the outside, into the electoral envelope. The electoral envelope must be placed inside the outer envelope and sent by ordinary post within a reasonable period of time for it to be received by the polling station on the day of the election by 2 pm at the latest.