During the height of the holiday season, political tensions intensified as the PP criticized Pedro Sánchez and his electoral strategy, suggesting that Spaniards were being asked to choose between participating in a ballot or taking a vacation. The public mood, however, appeared to be seeking a compromise between civic duties and personal plans, as preliminary data on postal voting began to surface. In four days, more than 16,500 postal voting applications were filed, a figure that already surpassed nearly 50 percent of the total applications received by autonomous communities in some recent electoral cycles. This trend underscored the strong interest in exercising the vote by mail and hinted at how the holiday period could intersect with the electoral timetable for many households.
The postal sector represented by the UGT union, within its Public Services federation, reported dissatisfaction with the Government’s proposal to reinforce Valencia Post Offices in preparation for the July 23 election process. The union stressed that the current plans did not meet the needs posed by the upcoming ballot rush and insisted on a more substantial boost in personnel to manage the surge. Specifically, the UGT called for at least 120 additional staff to be deployed across the Valencian Community, with the possibility of a broader increase approaching a thousand positions if recruitment projections materialize as hoped. It is worth noting that after unions raised concerns, the Government announced a nationwide recruitment drive of 5,000 people to help handle the flood of postal ballot requests following the election timeline announcement. This national effort was intended to ensure that the serving capacity kept pace with demand, avoiding backlogs and delays in processing ballots across the country.
In the Valencian Community, the four-day window from Monday to Thursday saw Valencia post offices recording an astonishing volume of applications, totaling 16,500 by Friday. This was already 6,500 more than any single prior collection of applications during the previous electoral event held on May 28. The numbers highlighted the intense interest in voting by mail and suggested that the region might experience a higher turnout potential than earlier anticipated, provided the postal network can handle the workload efficiently. The emphasis remained on ensuring that the system chosen for mail-in voting would function smoothly, with proper coverage and timely processing to support all eligible voters.
From the UGT’s perspective, the guarantee that voters could cast their ballots by mail hinged on the dedicated work of Correos staff. The union highlighted that public servants had shown remarkable commitment despite unclear and inconsistent templates across various departments, which added to the administrative burden. They argued that the rise in workload would coincide with the holiday season, making urgent reinforcement of both material and human resources essential. Correos acknowledged that the planned staff augmentation would be designed to cover the absence of workers throughout July, ensuring that leave patterns would not compromise the administration of the vote.
An “extraordinary” effort
Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who leads the UGT Post Office sector, stressed that postal workers were making an extraordinary effort to serve the public under favorable conditions. He noted that some offices had extended their closing hours and that there were instances of operational bottlenecks that could lead to temporary overloads. Ramírez urged Correos to supply the necessary human and material resources to guarantee a voting process that was free from queues, crowds, or excessive workload. The aim was to maintain a smooth, predictable flow of ballots through the system, minimizing delays and ensuring accuracy in handling all applications.