I’m an Italian living in Brussels, how do I vote?
This question – or at least in a similar way – will come to the minds of many European Union citizens. But why?
The European integration has brought forward many achievements that have had an impact on our daily life. For example, for citizens of its member states, it has never been as convenient as today to study, work or simply live in another country of the European Union. These freedoms provide unique opportunities and play a crucial role towards the formation of a European identity.
Nevertheless, integration is a complex process, where sometimes developments do not go simultaneously. Concerning the upcoming elections for the European Parliament in May 2019, we believe that voters, especially the ones that are not living in their country of citizenship, are facing an additional obstacle when willing to cast a vote. The root of the problem is that every member state sets their own regulations for the elections and therefore the conditions vary immensely.
The voter turnout in the last elections was frustrating. Let’s be realistic – with this project we will not manage to make all eligible voters use their right to vote. But as we are convinced that voting should be easily accessible, we want to help individual voters to overcome the obstacle of complex regulations, by breaking down the information to them.
For this reason, Y Vote has created the “How to Vote” app. By choosing their nationality and country of residence, users will get an overview of the specific regulations they will face for the upcoming elections. Who is eligible to vote? How does the registration process work? If they are living in a country other than their nationality, what ways of voting from abroad do they have? If they decide to vote in their country of residence, which criteria do they need to fulfil?
Our app is now available on any device. It can either be downloaded for iOS in the App Store, for Android in the Play Store or accessed online at www.howtovote.eu
Our app was created with the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union for the project “My Europe, My Say”.
Are you interested in sharing and promoting the the app? Check www.howtovote.eu/promotion/ or send us a mail to app@yvote.eu!