There will be an amendment to the Electoral Code. When will the changes take effect?
Work on amending the Electoral Code is just starting in the Sejm. KO MPs want to restore the possibility of voting by correspondence.
The bill regarding changes to electoral law was submitted by MPs from the Civic Coalition. They want all voters to be able to choose the option of voting by correspondence. This possibility existed before, but in 2018 Law and Justice removed it for people living abroad and limited it to people with disabilities, and in 2020 it extended it to voters in isolation or quarantine and those over 60 years of age.
KO wants to increase turnout in the presidential elections
– If anyone is wondering why PiS is skeptical, the answer should be clear after October 15, 2023. High turnout is the enemy of PiS and it is what took it from power. Jarosław Kaczyński's party discriminated against Poles permanently living abroad. For those who had hundreds of kilometers to the polling stations, this meant that voting was impossible – emphasized the applicant, Mariusz Witczak, head of the standing subcommittee for the amendment of the electoral law, in Wirtualna Polska.
The same MP said that he could not imagine President Andrzej Duda not signing the pro-turnout bill. He emphasized that every vote is worth its weight in gold, and the more of them, the stronger the legitimization of the government. He added that the parliament should have time to adopt the bill by the holidays. It would enter into force six months later, so it could be in force already during the presidential elections in 2025.
Every election by mail?
Ultimately, of course, the new rules would cover almost all votes: to the Sejm, Senate, European Parliament and presidential votes. The only partial exception would be local government elections and mayoral elections. In the latter cases, the option of voting by correspondence would remain only for voters with a significant or moderate degree of disability.
