What it is
Bill would count mail-in ballots separately
It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 1 December 2022. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario VOX.
Official title: Organic Private member's bill amending Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regime.
Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000280· updated 11 Nov
Automatic summary, not yet reviewed
- The bill, introduced by the VOX parliamentary group, proposes changing electoral law so that ballots sent by mail are counted in a separate urn from in-person ballots, instead of being mixed together as is now the case.
- The count of mail-in ballots would be done separately and independently from the count of in-person ballots, and mail-in results would also be recorded separately in the electoral record.
- When announcing results out loud, the president of the polling table would have to state the votes won by each candidacy both in aggregate and broken down between in-person and mail-in ballots.
- The amended rules would also apply to elections to the Legislative Assemblies of the Autonomous Communities. The law would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette.
Who it affects
- Voters who vote by mail: Their ballots would be counted in a separate urn and a separate count from in-person ballots.
- Members of polling tables: They would have to count mail-in ballots independently and announce those results separately.
- Parties and candidates: They would see mail-in ballot results broken down from in-person results.
- The Autonomous Communities: The new rules would also apply to their regional elections.
Words worth knowing
- Ley orgánica (organic law)
- A special type of Spanish law, reserved for major matters such as the electoral system, requiring stronger majorities to pass.
- Escrutinio (ballot count)
- The counting of votes to determine the winner.
- Mesa Electoral (polling table)
- The group of people who run voting at each polling station and count the ballots.
- Proposición de ley (bill)
- A text drafted as a law, proposed by a parliamentary group, that still must be debated and passed by the Congress.
It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries
Where it stands
How far did it get?
It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.
- Introduced1 December 2022Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
- Admitted5 December 2022The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
- Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
- Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
- Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
- Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
- BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 7 official steps on a timeline
Was there a plenary vote?
We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.
What happens next
What happens now?
The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.
It was presented again:
- XV Legislature, Congreso de los Diputados· Unfinished Bill to count mail-in votes separately
Sources
Where does all this come from?
- Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000280
Official title, type, author, dates and stage.
Retrieved 11 November 2026
- The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
- Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
- We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.