voting without papers or with your dog, taking a selfie in the voting booth… What rules must we follow when voting?

Presidential, European, legislative, municipal… There are many elections, and there are many rules governing them. What are you allowed to do in a polling station? Can you come in flip-flops, for example? Can you take just one ballot? As the French are called to the polls for the second round of early legislative elections on July 7, 2024, we take stock.

How should we behave in the voting booth? Can we bring our children, our dog? Take a selfie?

On a Sunday morning, if you come back from a walk with your children, it is perfectly possible to go and vote with them in the voting booth. There is only one condition to respect: that they do not cause any disorder or inconvenience in the polling station. The same goes for your dog, for example. The electoral code does not mention any specific rules for pets. It is still better to ask the president of the polling station if he sees any problem. Guide dogs are also authorized to enter polling stations.

Once in the voting booth, there is nothing to stop you from taking a selfie as long as it preserves the secrecy of your choice of candidate. However, in 2014, the Ministry of the Interior specifies that it is better to avoid it.The mere fact of doing so, and a fortiori of publishing it, can generate suspicion about the voter’s independence with regard to his vote. Indeed, nothing can guarantee that this publication was not required, in particular by pressure”.

The only rule to follow, ultimately, is not to discuss or deliberate inside the polling stations in order to guarantee the secrecy of the election. Failure to comply with this rule could result in a fine of up to 15,000 euros or even a year in prison.

How many ballots should you take to make your choice in the voting booth?

What must be kept in mind is that the secrecy of the vote is essential. It must be preserved to ensure the proper conduct of the elections. It is therefore necessary to draw at least two different ballot papers: no one can therefore become your final vote in the voting booth. If you decide to take only one, you expose yourself to expulsion from the polling station by the president. A violation of the secrecy of the vote can even lead to the cancellation of the electoral operations in the stations concerned.

On the other hand, if you come to vote with a ballot received by post, already put in an envelope, you do not need to draw another one on the discharge table. The secret is well kept.

Is there a dress code for voting?

Shorts, jogging pants, flip-flops… The French electoral code does not provide for any dress code. But not everything is necessarily permitted. It is forbidden to wear clothing with a political message, in support of a candidate or not. In 2014, a man from Toulouse, wearing a t-shirt from The Manif pour tous was refused access to his polling station. He had to go home and change in order to then be able to access the voting booth.

As for religious symbols, they are sometimes controversial but are not forbidden. Wearing a veil or a kippah does not matter, as long as the outfit does not hinder the verification of the voter’s identity by covering the face, for example. Scarves, balaclavas or motorcycle helmets do not necessarily allow a citizen’s identity to be properly verified, and can be an obstacle to voting.

Can you vote without ID?

If you live in a municipality with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, this is entirely possible. The electoral card is sufficient. However, you must “be able to prove your identity if the polling station president asks you to do so”specifies the public service website.

But if you live in a municipality with more than 1,000 inhabitants, the electoral card will not be enough to vote: it is not considered an identity document. You must present your national identity card or passport. The hunting card, issued by the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS), is also accepted if it is valid.

Why do we always vote on Sundays?

It is article L55 of the electoral code that sets the vote on Sunday. First, because it is a public holiday, which allows a majority of French people to go to the polls without having to take time off from their jobs. It is also a question of organization, since the polling stations are set up in premises that are closed on Sundays (schools, town halls).

But in 2003, it was decided that voters from overseas territories (with the exception of Reunion Island), embassies and consular posts located on the American continent would vote on Saturday for the elections. Indeed, because of the time difference, overseas residents and French people abroad finished voting while the first estimates of the results were already known in mainland France. Note that in the United States, for example, Americans are called to the polls onThe Tuesday following the first Monday in November, for the famous “Election Day”. In Europe, only the English are not fans of Sunday voting: on the other side of the Channel, people go to the polls on Thursday.