via Associated Press Polling stations open until 7 or 8 p.m. for the second round of the 2022 presidential election.
PRESIDENT – Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron or the blank vote? Like several overseas or expatriate French voters before them, the metropolitan citizens on the electoral rolls are over 18 as of Sunday, the 24th finalist, outgoing Emmanuel Macron and RN candidate Marine Le Pen. They have up to depending on the city 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. time to drop their ballot in the ballot box, or until 6 p.m. in certain small towns according to a prefectural decision.
Voting began on Saturday in the French West Indies, Guyana, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (French archipelago in North America) and French Polynesia (South Pacific). On Sundays, polling stations in mainland France are open until 7 p.m. and in the big cities even until 8 p.m. Traditionally, at 8 p.m., the French discover the face of the President-elect on the television screens.
The two contenders
Emmanuel Macron, 44, is hoping to become the Fifth Republic’s first president to be re-elected by universal suffrage outside of cohabitation. He’s the favorite in the polls. Enarque, former investment banker, former economy minister to François Hollande, became the youngest President of the Republic in 2017 at just 39 years old. In the first ballot, the center candidate took first place with 27.85% of the votes.
Marine Le Pen, a 53-year-old lawyer, is standing for her third candidacy for the Élysée. The far-right opponent, long elected to the European Parliament, is now a member of Pas-de-Calais. Already a finalist against Emmanuel Macron five years ago, the candidate of the National Rallye (RN, former Front National) had received 33.9% of the votes. In the first round, she took second place with 23.15%.
The poll compiler you have in front of you is therefore the last of this presidential campaign run from the polls published up to 11:59 p.m. Friday.
voting procedure
The head of state is elected by direct universal suffrage by unanimous votes in two ballots for a five-year term, renewable once. Irrespective of the participation rate, he must collect the absolute majority of the votes cast in one or two ballots. The parliamentary elections will take place in a first round on June 12th and a second on June 19th.
The empty vote and the invalid vote
What is the difference between blank vote, zero vote and abstention? Almost nobody. However, the 2014 law aims to recognize the blank vote as a “civil act”. Voting for White involves a visit to his polling station, which through the gesture confirms the expression of a refusal to choose between the candidates in the race. But since it is not counted in the final results between each candidate, the difference remains symbolic, political or sophisticated, but has no impact on the election.
To vote blank, all you have to do is toss an empty envelope or ballot that is the same size as the candidate’s ballot into the ballot box. The void vote corresponds to ballots without an envelope, torn, or annotated, which cannot be accounted for in the results.
Viepublique.frThe difference between an empty vote and a zero vote in elections in France.
5 years ago, in the first duel between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the white vote had reached 8.52% of the voters and according to pollsters, given the defiance of many voters, we could be approaching such a level. Since the country’s three school zones have school holidays, abstention in particular could be the big arbiter of this second round.
health protocol
The health protocol drawn up by the authorities does not provide for any restrictions. No vaccination certificate or screening test is required and people who have tested positive for Covid-19 can vote. If wearing the mask and the distance rules in the polling stations are not mandatory, wearing the mask is still recommended.
Voter card and power of attorney
It is “advisable” to present your voter ID at the polling station, but it is not mandatory. If you lose your ballot, you can still put it in the ballot box after presenting an identification document such as a passport or identity card.
Proxy voting was made more flexible earlier this year: it now allows one voter to represent another even if they don’t live in the same municipality, but the person designated to vote cannot do so anywhere other than at the polling station of the one who gives him that mandate has granted. It is possible to issue a power of attorney up to the day of the election, but this is recommended due to the processing times.
See also on The HuffPost: How Jean-Luc Mélenchon is spanning the second round of the presidential election