Czech presidential elections: Voters don't have to go to their home precinct if they have a voter pass

Voters in the upcoming elections should already know by now where they can go locally to cast their ballots for the next President of the Czech Republic. The deadline for mayors to announce the addresses of the polls was 29 December 2017.

Those who want to cast their ballots outside of their community of permanent residence can already pick up their voter passes. Those who are planning to be on vacation abroad during the second weekend in January, or who are heading to the mountains locally, can request such a pass.

It will be possible to vote in any of the approximately 15 000 polls located abroad or in the Czech Republic by using the pass. It can be applied for at municipal authorities or town halls in writing by 5 January and in person by 10 January at the latest.

The voter pass authorizes the bearer to participate in casting a ballot at any Czech polling place. The voter delivers the pass to the electoral commission along with the ballot, which prevents the possibility of a voter casting more than one ballot.

Persons 18 years of age and older are listed on the voter rolls according to their permanent residence. One week before the polls open, persons who are temporarily residing locally in hospitals, prisons, retirement homes and sanatoria are added to the rolls.

Anybody who relocated during the summer should check where they are registered on the voter rolls. Czech citizens living abroad can also apply for a voter pass if they will not be able to access their consulate or embassy when the polls are open or if they may be in the process of returning to the Czech Republic then.

Such citizens can apply for a voter pass at the Czech embassy in the country of their residence if they are listed on the so-called special list of voters held by that authority. The addresses of domestic polling places do not usually change and are customarily the same as that of municipal authorities or the other public spaces where voters cast ballots for the lower house in October 2017, such as schools