Ballot papers and election envelopes for elections to Congress of Deputies and Senate

1. For the purposes of Section 70.1 of this Act Provincial Electoral Commissions are the Electoral Commissions with jurisdiction for elections to the Congress of Deputies or to the Senate. 

2. Ballot papers designed for election of members of the Congress of Deputies must contain the following particulars: the initials and symbol of the party, federation, coalition of grouping electors presenting the candidates, the name and surname of candidates and substitute candidates with an indication of their order on the list and, as the case may be, the situation referred to in Section 46.7 of this Act.

3. Ballot forms for elections to Senate shall be printed on only one side, unless the number of candidates exceeds the number laid down by statutory regulation to be issued under this Act, in which case they shall be printed on both sides. They shall contain:

a) Name or initials and symbol of the formation nominating the candidate or candidates, be it a party, federation, a coalition or an electors’ grouping. Below said name or initials the ballot paper must include the names of the candidate or candidates, these being set out in the latter case in the order freely chosen by the nominating formation;

b) Lists of candidates shall be arranged from left to right, from top to bottom and from the largest to the lowest, having regard to number of votes polled in the constituency by all candidates presented by each of the parties, federations and coalitions at the latest elections to the Senate. Candidatures of electors’ groupings, as well as those of parties, federations and collations who have not taken part in the preceding election to the Senate, are to appear afterwards in the order resulting from drawing lots in each constituency; 

c) In the case of parties or federations which, having been part of a coalition with a representation in the Senate, and decided to stand separately at the following election in the same constituency, the order of entry on the ballot form provided for in paragraph b) shall apply to all parties, federations and coalitions having belonged to the former coalition. Priority among them shall be freely determined and, in default of an agreement, it shall be drawn by lots.

The same rule applies to parties or federations which, having stood separately at an election to Senate and gained representation may subsequently choose to stand as part of a coalition in the same constituency.

d) There shall be a box before the name of each candidate and electors must fill with a cross the box corresponding to the candidate or candidates for whom they he intend to vote, and

e) An informative sheet addressed to electors, pointing out the maximum, number of candidates for whom they may vote in each constituency, as well as the fact that any alteration in the ballot form shall entail nullity of their vote.

 3 AS AMENDED BY SE CT. 1 OF INSTITUTIONAL ACT 8/2010, OF NOVEMBER 8