Booked holidays could excuse 29 November poll duty
A holiday booked for 29 November could clash with a call to staff a polling station in Spain: travel agency groups want clear rules on when someone can be excused. The Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) has asked the Central Electoral Board to set a consistent approach. The request was reported from Madrid, Spain, on 24 October.
CEAV says many holidays were booked months ahead, leaving travellers and agencies uncertain about what happens if someone is picked for polling duty. At the 2023 general election, the board allowed an earlier booking to be considered grounds for an exemption if cancelling meant financial loss or serious disruption. That decision applied only to that election and to trips booked before it was called.
Another travel agency group, UNAV-Fetave, wants a broader, permanent rule. It says trips booked before a person receives notice of polling duty should also count, provided they can show documents to support their case and the polling station can still be properly staffed.
The group accepts that serving at a polling station is a civic duty. But it says people should not face substantial cancellation costs for a trip they had already booked. No equivalent exemption has yet been established for 29 November.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com