YOUR GUIDE TO VOTING IN Portugal

Image showing an a girl putting a ballot in a voting box.

When to Vote

9 June 2024

Mark your calendars!

Anyone aged 18 or over on the election day can vote if they have residency in Portugal and hold either Portuguese citizenship or the citizenship of another EU country. 

Illustration of a girl showing a book and some other documents.

Do I have an obligation to Vote?

No, there is no legal obligation. However, you know what we say…use your vote anyway!

Where can I vote?

Illustration showing different ways to vote, by mail, in person or online.

If you are a Portuguese citizen voting in Portugal

If you live in Portugal, you’re lucky! If you have your ID with you, you can actually vote at any polling station in the country or abroad. 

And if you don’t have your ID on you? Then you’ll just have to go to the polling station designated for your registered address. You can find out where you’re polling station is here. 

If you are a Portuguese citizen voting from another EU country

If your address on your ID is your current address abroad, you must register at your respective consulate to be able to vote. If your current address differs from your ID, then you need to get a Citizen Card. If you have a Citizen Card, you will automatically be registered to be able to vote. Make sure to take care of this as soon as possible, as the registration deadline is quite early!

Deadline to register: you must register by 10 April 2024 (60 days before the election). 

If you are an Portuguese citizen voting from a country outside the EU

The same rules of registration apply when voting outside the European Union. 

If you are EU citizen voting in Portugal

As a legal resident in Portugal, you can of course vote there! Make sure to register in the municipality where you have your official residence, to be on the voting list. For the registration you need to bring your ID and residence permit. Learn more here.

Deadline to register: you must register by 10 April 2024 (60 days before the election).

This picture shows voting ballots and a mouse click
Voting Online
Can I vote online?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote online in Portugal.
Picture showing a mail box and envelope.
Voting by Mail
Can I vote by mail?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote by mail in Portugal.
Picture showing a girl in front of a computer.
Voting by Proxy
Can I vote by proxy?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote by proxy in Portugal.
Picture showing a girl with locomotory disability in a wheelchair, and a bullet with someone putting a ballot in a box.

Voting & accessibility

Do you have a disability or an illness? Since you cannot vote by mail or by proxy, you have to go to a polling station if you want to cast your vote. There, you have the following forms of assistance:

  • you can choose someone to assist you in filling the ballot
  • if you are not able to enter the polling station, arrangements have to be made by the polling station for you to be able to vote alone, in secrecy and close vicinity of the polling station and its delegates
  • if you're visually impaired you can vote with a braille matrix, which the polling station will provide.
Picture of a girl sitting on the sofa and reading on a laptop, with another laptop screen in the back

fun facts

  • Portugal joined the European Union on 1 January 1986.
  • Portugal will have 21 members of the European Parliament the same as in the previous elections in 2019.
  • There is only one national constituency and everyone votes for the same list across the country.
  • Portugal uses the D’Hont proportional representation method.
  • There is no threshold for the European elections.
Read More