It is the election that mobilizes the most voters in France. You only have a few days left to register on the electoral lists for the presidential election. The approach can be done online until March 2and on paper in town hall until March 4. Contrary to what we could see a few years ago, there is no big crowd just before this last deadline.
Drop-in registrations
Since January, registration requests have increased, but without generating a large crowd on the eve of the deadline for registering on the electoral lists. “We no longer have this last-minute rush (…) it really spreads throughout the year” confirms Estelle Petitpez, assistant to the town hall of Châteauroux, in charge in particular of the elections. According to Patrick Dupont, responsible for general affairs and the informative reception at the town hall of Châteauroux, this is linked in particular to the shortening of deadlines in place since 2019: “The mode of registration changed at the time of the last European elections, with the creation of the single electoral register. The deadline is set at six weeks before the election date, compared to before, when the deadline was set for December 31“.
In Chateaurouxsince January 1, the town hall has recorded between 20 and 30 requests voter registration per day. In Issoudun, around fifty people were registered in one week at the end of February, a few days before the deadline.
Paper registrations, still popular
Overall, the majority of citizens still make their request via a paper form in Indre. The approach is also available online, but this mode represents for example onlya quarter of the procedures at the town hall of Valençay. This rises a little in Châteauroux, where paper still represents a little more than half of the requests, and in Issoudun, where digital technology is chosen by nearly 60% of citizens who register on the electoral lists.
The opening of polling stations, postponed until 7 p.m. in Châteauroux
In Châteauroux, the polling stations will be exceptionally open until 7 p.m. for these presidential elections (against 6 p.m. usually). According to the deputy Estelle Petitperz, it is a question of meeting the expectations of the voters, because this election is the one that mobilizes the most widely in France.