Today, Sunday, November 10th, is Election Day in Spain. There are some important differences from elections in the U.S.
Election Day is on Sunday. Since most people do not work on Sunday, it makes voting much more accessible. Every elementary school is a voting precinct, and is open 8am-8pm. There is a constant stream of people going in and out to vote, yet there really aren’t any lines.
I stopped by Leo’s school. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside. There was one little voting stall in the middle of the school cafeteria where people fill in their ballots with pen.
Average voter turn out is 80 percent! When we asked a friend about this, she said since they had to fight so hard to get the vote, people feel a responsibility to vote. Turns out that Spanish men and women were not allowed to vote from 1936-1977 (during the Franco dictatorship and until 2 years after his death)!
Adrift in Andalucía 