As planned and without disruptions, voting for the elections and referendum began at 7 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Poland) at the Electoral Commission of the Polish Consulate in Curitiba, Brazil – confirmed Vice Consul Bartosz Kniecicki in an interview with PAP.
Voting lasts until 9:00 PM local time (2:00 AM in Poland). During the same hours, Poles can vote in the electoral committee of the Polish Embassy in Brasilia.
Elect Poles in Brazil
According to information from the National Electoral Commission (NEC), 51 voters were registered with the district electoral commission in Brasilia, and 73 people in Curitiba.
In Latin American countries, the US and Canada, voting will take place on Saturday. As Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau explained, this is to allow voting to close on Sunday according to Polish time, so that Poles in the country do not have to wait for their compatriots across the Atlantic to vote.
Voting in the United States
Voting for the elections to the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland and the nationwide referendum began in 25 districts in the eastern United States. Several tens of thousands of Poles in the US will vote in a total of 52 committees in 21 states.
Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) at 25 locations in Florida, Georgia, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Due to the difference in time zones, polls will open an hour later, including: in Illinois and Texas. Another hour later, at 3 p.m. Polish time, voting begins in Colorado. Another hour later, polling stations open on the West Coast: in California, Oregon and Washington, but also in Arizona and Nevada. Voting at all locations will last until 9:00 PM local time, meaning the last places will close at 6:00 AM Polish time on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of people have registered for the voters list via the e-Wybory platform. Eight hours before registration closed, there were more than 41,000. people, but the final number will be significantly higher. The largest number of voters will cast their ballots in Chicago, where, not counting surrounding cities, no fewer than eight committees have been established, with fewer than 8,000 subscribers. voters. In the Washington consular district (which includes five commissions in Florida, Georgia and DC), 4,264 people registered to vote, and in the Los Angeles consular district – which includes commissions in San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix – 5719.
The number of voters is probably among the highest in history. 36,000 people voted in the second round of the 2020 US presidential election. people, in the 2019 parliamentary elections – 29.5 thousand, and in the 2015 parliamentary elections – less than 25 thousand.
Voting in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay
Voting began at the District Electoral Commission in Buenos Aires on Saturday at 7 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Poland).
– the Consular and Polish Diaspora Department of the Polish Embassy in Argentina’s capital told PAP.
Poles can vote in the elections and referendum in Buenos Aires from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (between 12 p.m. and 2 a.m. Polish time).
According to information published on the website of the National Electoral Commission, 216 voters have registered with the electoral commission number 6 of the district in Buenos Aires.
The territorial jurisdiction of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Buenos Aires includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
No problems in Chile
Voting in the elections and referendum at the District Electoral Commission in Santiago, Chile’s capital, started on time and without any problems on Saturday at 7 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Poland).
– the consular section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Santiago told PAP.
There are 141 voters registered in the district electoral commission in Santiago de Chile, according to data published on the National Electoral Commission (PKW) website. Poles can vote between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM local time (12:00 PM to 2:00 AM in Poland).
The Polish community votes in Canada
Voting has begun in Canada for the Polish parliamentary elections and referendum.
Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (1 p.m. in Poland) in eight committees in Ottawa, Montreal, Kitchener and metropolitan Toronto. Polls open one hour later in Winnipeg, Manitoba, two hours later in Edmonton and Calgary, and three hours later in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Voters in Canada could register via the e-election platform until Wednesday. About 12,000 had been registered around noon local time on Wednesday. people.
Due to the tense international situation, the Federal Police, or RCMP, was notified of Election Day
– according to information provided to PAP by Polish diplomatic missions.
A constant police presence is not expected, but additional patrols may appear. Additional security procedures are also being implemented. For example, at the Polish Embassy in Ottawa, voters will be asked to show their Polish passport before entering the polling station. You are not allowed to bring backpacks, bags and other luggage that is not needed during voting. The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Toronto also advised against coming with a larger bag or backpack.
Voting in Canada ends on Saturday when the polling station closes in Vancouver at 9pm local time, i.e. on Sunday at 6am in Poland.
Elections at sea
It will be possible to vote for four Polish ships and four Polish platforms in the upcoming Sejm and Senate elections and in the national referendum.
At the end of September, Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk issued a regulation on the establishment of voting circuits on Polish seagoing vessels in the elections to the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, which will be held on Sunday.
The list includes eight maritime circuits, including platforms operating in the Polish economic zone in the Baltic Sea, owned by LOTOS Petrobaltic of the Orlen Group. They were given numbers from 1000 to 1007
– said the representative of Lotos Petrobaltic and also the representative of the District Electoral Commission in Warsaw I – Agnieszka Kmiecik.
The ships you can vote for are: “Dar Młodzieży”, owned by the Maritime University of Gdynia, “Baltica” owned by the Maritime Fisheries Institute – National Research Institute, “Fryderyk Chopin”, owned by the company 3OCEANS, as well as the logistics support of the ship “ORP Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki”, owned by the 2nd Transport and Mining Ships Division – 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla.
The voting place, designated by the commander of “Dar Młodzieży”, is the captain’s lounge. Regular crew members and cadets cast their votes here
– Bartosz Obajński, spokesperson for the Maritime University of Gdynia, told PAP
He added that the urn, like any place, will be sealed.
The tenant becomes chairman of the election committee. Voting takes place from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. shipping time. After completion of voting, the committee counts the votes, prepares a report, packs and stores all documents in special packages
– he pointed out.
He explained that the results are sent to the country via the Internet through a special election website – created by the CEC. The election report is then publicly posted on the ship. 122 people will participate in the “Dar Młodzieży” elections.
Voting will also take place on four mining and drilling rigs: Baltic Beta, Lotos Petrobaltic, Petrobaltic and Petro Giant.
The polling station is located on the platforms in the so-called recreation or meeting room. Inside are a sealed ballot box, national flags, the Polish emblem and places for the five-member electoral commission.
– explained Agnieszka Kmiecik.
The committee consists of members of the ship’s crew appointed by the captain. In a platform, the members of the Commission are appointed by the administrator.
According to the Electoral Act (Art. 15 of the Electoral Act), the establishment of voting circuits for voters staying on Polish seagoing vessels traveling on election day can be requested if certain conditions are met: at least 15 voters and the ability to implement the electoral law serve. voting results to the relevant electoral commission immediately upon completion. However, the most important condition is the ship’s Polish flag.
The regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure on the list of voters staying on Polish seagoing vessels stipulates that voters staying on Polish seagoing vessels will be included in the list of voters drawn up by the captain of the ship. Such information also goes to the mayor of the Śródmieście district of the capital Warsaw, where the data is entered into the CRW system.
The circuits on Polish ships fall under Warszawa Śródmieście
– Kmiecik explained.
The list of voters is then submitted by the captain to the chairman of the district election committee no later than the day before the vote. From that moment on, the Electoral Commission monitors the conduct of the elections, counts the votes after the vote, draws up the protocols and forwards them via the WOW system, i.e. the IT system for the Support of Electoral Bodies, and waiting for the protocols to be approved.
All documentation shall be submitted to the District Electoral Commission as soon as possible or immediately upon return to the country. If the documents are not submitted to the District Electoral Commission before its dissolution, the captain of the ship will forward them to the director of the branch office of the National Electoral Office in Warsaw.
Yesterday, the voters’ list on Polish ships included 342 eligible voters.
READ ALSO:
– What about votes from outside Poland? The National Electoral Commission explains: The commissions must follow the guidelines and there will be no problems with counting
– When will we know the official election results? The National Electoral Commission announced the date: we hope it will be no later than Tuesday afternoon
Mom/Dad
Source: wPolityce