Parliamentary elections 2023. Voting abroad – when does it start? Poles vote in the USA, Canada and South America

It started at midnight from Friday to Saturday electoral and referendum silence. It also applies on the Internet. It will last until the end of voting scheduled for 9 p.m. on Sunday.

In North American and South American countries, voting in parliamentary elections takes place on Saturday. This is to enable the closing of voting in the elections according to Polish time on Sunday, so that Poles in the country do not have to wait for their compatriots across the Atlantic to cast their votes.

In which countries can Poles vote on Saturday?

According to Vice-Consul Bartosz Kniecicki, voting in the elections at the electoral commission at the Polish consulate in Curitiba, Brazil, began as planned at 7 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Poland).

Voting in the elections will last there until 9 p.m. local time (2 a.m. from Saturday to Sunday in Poland). During the same hours, Poles can vote at the electoral commission at the Polish embassy in Brasilia.

According to information from the National Electoral Commission (NEC), 51 voters were registered with the district electoral commission in Brasilia, and 73 people were registered in Curitiba.

At the same time as in Brazil, voting in the elections at the district electoral commission in Buenos Aires began – informed the Consular and Polish Diaspora Section of the Polish Embassy in the capital of Argentina.

Poles can vote in the parliamentary elections in Buenos Aires from 7 to 9 p.m. local time (between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. Polish time). According to information published on the website of the National Electoral Commission, 216 voters registered at the precinct electoral commission number 6 in Buenos Aires.

The territorial competences of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Buenos Aires include, apart from Argentina, also Paraguay and Uruguay.

From 7 a.m. local time (12 p.m. in Poland) voting takes place at the district electoral commission in the capital of Chile. According to the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Santiago, it started on time and without any problems.

There are 141 voters registered in the district electoral commission in Santiago de Chile, according to data published on the website of the National Electoral Commission.

In the eastern United States, early voting began at 7 a.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) at 25 locations in Florida, Georgia, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Due to the difference in time zones, the electoral districts were opened an hour later, among others. in Illinois and Texas.

After another hour, at 3 p.m. Polish time, voting in the Colorado elections began. Another hour later, polls opened on the West Coast – in California, Oregon and Washington, as well as in Arizona and Nevada. In all locations, voting in the elections will last until 9 p.m. local time, which means that the last locations in the US will close at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Polish time.

Tens of thousands of people in the USA signed up for the voter roll via the e-Wybory platform. The largest number of voters will cast their votes in Chicago, where – not counting the surrounding towns – as many as eight commissions have been established, with less than 8,000 subscribers. voters. In the Washington consular district (which includes five commissions in Florida, Georgia and D.C.), 4,264 people registered to vote, and in the Los Angeles consular district – which includes commissions in San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix – 5719.

Voter numbers are likely to be among the highest in history. In the second round of the 2020 presidential election in the USA, 36,000 people voted. people, in the 2019 parliamentary elections – 29.5 thousand, and in the 2015 parliamentary elections – less than 25 thousand.

In Canada, voting in the parliamentary elections began at 7 a.m. local time (1 p.m. in Poland) in eight commissions located in Ottawa, Montreal, Kitchener and metropolitan Toronto. The polls opened one hour later in Winnipeg, Manitoba, two hours later in Edmonton and Calgary, and three hours later in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Voters in Canada could register via the e-elections platform until Wednesday. Around noon local time on Wednesday, approximately 12,000 were registered. people.

Due to the tense international situation, the federal police, or RCMP, were informed about the election day – according to information from Polish diplomatic missions provided to PAP. A constant police presence is not expected, but additional patrols may appear. Additional security procedures are also being implemented. For example, at the Polish embassy in Ottawa, voters will be asked to show their Polish passport before entering the polling station. You will not be allowed to bring backpacks, bags and other luggage that is not necessary while voting. The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Toronto also advised against coming with a larger bag or backpack.

Voting in Canada will end at the close of the polling station in Vancouver on Saturday at 9 p.m. local time, i.e. at 6 a.m. on Sunday in Poland.

The polling station at the Polish Embassy in Lima was opened for voters in the parliamentary elections on Saturday at 7 a.m. sharp Peruvian time (2 p.m. in Poland) – confirmed the Department for Consular and Polish Diaspora Affairs of the Polish Embassy in the capital of Peru.

Data published on the website of the National Electoral Commission (PKW) show that 144 voters registered with the district electoral commission in Lima. They can cast their votes on Saturday from 7 to 21 local time (from 2 p.m. on Saturday to 4 a.m. from Saturday to Sunday in Poland).

The territorial competences of the Polish Embassy in Lima include – apart from Peru – Ecuador and Bolivia.

At the Polish embassy in Mexico, voting in the parliamentary elections began on Saturday promptly at 7 a.m. local time (3 p.m. in Poland). The electoral commission is working without disruptions, confirmed an employee of the Polish embassy. Several dozen votes have already been cast, said a representative of the diplomatic mission less than an hour after the start of voting.

Poles in the capital of Mexico can vote between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time (3 a.m.-5 a.m. in Poland). According to information posted on the website of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), 327 voters registered with the district electoral commission in Mexico.

Costa Rica also falls under the territorial competence of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Mexico.

Across the Atlantic, Poles can also vote in elections in Cuba, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. Data on the National Electoral Commission’s website show that 99 voters are entitled to vote in the district electoral commission in Havana, 104 in Bogota, 75 in Panama and 43 in Caracas.