For which elections can you vote by correspondence?
Vote by correspondence is possible for:
- The municipal elections on June 11th, 2023
- The legislative elections on October 8th, 2023
The municipal elections on June 11th, 2023
Who can vote in these elections?
The municipal elections on June 11th, 2023 are open to voters (Luxembourgers and foreigners) registered on the electoral roll in Luxembourg at least 55 days before the date of the elections, which corresponds to Monday April 17th, 2023.
How to vote by correspondence?
The application for postal voting must be sent to your municipality of residence:
- At the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 25 days before Election Day if you wish to receive an invitation letter to vote to an address in Luxembourg. For the elections on June 11th, 2023, the request must therefore reach the Municipal Council on Sunday March 19th, 2023 at the earliest and on Wednesday May 17th, 2023 at the latest.
- At the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 40 days before Election Day if you wish to receive an invitation letter to vote to an address abroad. For the election on June 11th, 2023 the request must therefore reach the Municipal Council on Sunday March 19th, 2023 at the earliest and Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 at the latest.
You can submit your request to vote by correspondence online via MyGuichet.lu (with a LuxTrust certificate) or send it by ordinary mail (on plain paper or on a pre-printed form, which can be obtained from your municipality of residence).
Please consider the delivery times for mail posted from abroad carefully, also taking into account that there is no postal delivery in Luxembourg on Saturdays and Sundays.
Specificities of the municipal elections on June 11th, 2023
These will be the first municipal elections in which all foreign residents in the Grand Duchy will be able to participate without having to fulfil the condition of having resided in the Grand Duchy for more than 5 years:
- If you are a national of another Member State of the European Union or of the Schengen Area, you must be domiciled in the Grand Duchy and have resided there at the time of your application for registration on the electoral roll.
- If you are a national of a third country (outside of the European Union), you must have a valid residency card or permit, be domiciled in the Grand Duchy and have resided there at the time of your application for registration on the electoral roll.
Parliamentary elections on October 8th, 2023
Who can vote in these elections?
Every five years, Luxembourg nationals registered on the electoral roll in Luxembourg are called upon to elect the 60 members of Parliament by direct universal suffrage. The next parliamentary elections will take place on October 8th, 2023.
Voting is mandatory for all registered voters, except for voters over 75 years of age, who are exempt from this obligation. If you are not registered on the electoral roll because you are not registered with a Luxembourg municipality, but you are a Luxembourg national, it is possible for you to participate in the elections, without being obliged to do so.
How to register for postal voting/vote by correspondence?
Postal voting is possible for all voters who are not present in Luxembourg on Election Day.
If you are residing in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, you can apply for postal voting either in the municipality where you are registered on the electoral roll or in your municipality of residence.
If you are residing abroad and wish to vote by correspondence, you can send an application to:
- to your last municipality of residence ;
- or, failing that, to your municipality of birth ;
- or, as a last resort, to the City of Luxembourg (this applies in principle to Luxembourg nationals who have recovered their nationality by ancestral means).
Your request for voting by correspondence must be sent to the municipality where you are registered:
- At the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 25 days before Election Day, if you wish to receive an invitation letter to vote to an address in Luxembourg. For the elections on October 8th, 2023 the request must therefore reach the Municipal Council on Sunday July 16th, 2023 at the earliest and on Wednesday September 13th, 2023 at the latest.
- At the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 40 days before Election Day, if you wish to receive an invitation letter to vote to an address abroad. For the elections on October 8th, 2023, the request must therefore reach the Municipal Council on Sunday July 16th, 2023 at the earliest and Tuesday August 29th, 2023 at the latest.
Your request to vote by correspondence can be made online via MyGuichet.lu (with a LuxTrust certificate) or sent by ordinary postal service (on plain paper or on a pre-printed form, which can be obtained from your municipality of residence).
Please consider the delivery times for mail posted from abroad carefully, also taking into account that there is no mail delivery in Luxembourg on Saturdays and Sundays.
If you have recovered your Luxembourg nationality by ancestral means and do not have a municipality of birth or residence, you can find the online form for your voting application on the dedicated web page of the City of Luxembourg (this will only be put online once the applications for postal voting are accepted).
The postal address for sending a completed request for postal voting to the City of Luxembourg is:
Collège des Bourgmestre et échevins
42, place Guillaume II
L - 2090 Luxembourg
Europe
Please find the addresses of the other municipalities on their respective websites.
In accordance with article 170 of the Electoral Law, you must, as a voter, indicate in your written and signed request for voting by correspondence, your surname, first name(s), date and place of birth, your residence and the address to which your invitation to vote and ballot paper should be sent. You must declare under oath that you are not disqualified from voting either under Article 52 of the Constitution or under Article 6 of the Electoral Law.
If you live abroad, you must attach a certified copy of your valid passport or identity card to your request for voting by correspondence.
How to vote by correspondence
If your request for voting by correspondence is accepted, the municipality will send you the invitation letter to vote by registered mail. Once you have been admitted to vote by correspondence, you will not be able to choose any other voting method.
If you live in Luxembourg, the municipality will send your invitation to vote and your ballot paper by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt at the latest 15 days before Election Day (Saturday September 23rd, 2023).
If you live abroad, the municipality will send your invitation to vote and your ballot paper by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt at the latest 35 days before Electino Day (Sunday September 3rd, 2023).
The envelope from the municipality (i.e. the invitation to vote) includes:
- the list of candidates;
- instructions for voting by correspondence for the parliamentary elections;
- a standard opaque/non-transparent “electoral envelope”, with appropriate postage;
- the ballot papers, duly stamped;
- a standard envelope, for the transmission of the electoral envelope, marked "Elections - Vote by correspondence", with the indication of the polling station on the bottom right-hand side of the envelope and your reference number, as well as your surname, first name(s) and address.
As a registered voter, please fill in the ballot paper.
To send the ballot paper to the polling station, you must place the completed and folded ballot paper, with the stamp visible on the outside, in the election envelope. The election envelope must be placed inside the standard envelope and sent by ordinary mail.
Your vote must be received by the polling station on Election Day, i.e. on October 8th, 2023 at 2 p.m. at the latest.
Please consider the delivery times for mail posted from abroad carefully, taking into account that there is no postal delivery in Luxembourg on Saturdays and Sundays.
All envelopes containing ballot papers are kept by the receiving polling station until Election Day. They will be opened during the counting of the votes.
Any late mail will be destroyed unopened.
What is the legal basis?
For any additional information, we refer to the Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to the Electoral Law of 18 February 2003 as amended. You can consult the whole legal framework relating to the municipal, legislative and European elections here .