Proxy voting allows an absent or prevented voter (the principal) to choose another voter to vote on their behalf (the proxy). The proxy must be registered on the electoral rolls of the same municipality as the principal, but not necessarily in the same polling station. The same voter cannot hold more than two proxies, only one of which can be established in France.
For proxy voting to be possible, the principal must be in one of the following situations:
– have professional obligations that keep them away from their polling station on election day or make it impossible for them to attend;
– be unable to travel on election day due to health conditions, a disability, or because they are assisting a sick or disabled person;
– be undergoing training that keeps them away from their voting location on election day;
– have left their residence to take a vacation, a condition valid regardless of their socio-professional status (employee, retiree, student, etc.);
– be registered on the electoral lists of a different municipality than their main residence.
Persons held in temporary detention and inmates serving sentences that do not result in electoral incapacity may also vote by proxy.
To validate a proxy vote, the principal must appear before one of the following authorities:
– the judge of the local court of their residence (or the chief clerk of that court);
– a duly authorized judicial police officer (police station or gendarmerie);
– the same authorities at their place of work;
– for those residing outside of France, the competent consular authority.
The principal must prove their identity (national identity card, passport, driver’s license, etc.) and provide a sworn statement specifying the reason (among those listed above) why they are unable to participate in the election. No other documentary evidence is required. However, detained individuals must provide a copy of the prison register.
Procedures must be carried out as early as possible by the principal to accommodate the time it takes to send the proxy to the destination town hall and its processing there. In principle, a proxy can be established up to the day before the election. However, if the proxy is not received by the municipality in time, the proxy may then be unable to vote. Indeed, the failure to receive the proxy by the town hall would prevent the proxy from participating in the vote.
