1. Voting Rights of EU Citizens.
To exercise the right to vote, EU citizens must be at least 18 years old, have residence in Slovakia, and possess a foreigner’s residence permit. EU citizens obtain the residence permit document by registering for residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic at the relevant Foreign Police department. Contacts can be found directly on the website of the Ministry of Interior of the SR.
Municipal Elections.
Citizens of other EU countries are automatically included in the list of voters for local government elections upon registering their residence, provided they meet the above conditions.
European Parliament Elections.
Citizens of other EU countries must register to vote in European elections. You need to submit an application to the municipality where you reside, no later than 40 days before the election day. Otherwise, you lose the right to be included in the list of voters. Online registration is not possible, and voting by mail is not allowed.
If you are an EU citizen, have turned 18 by the day of the elections, have not been granted a residence permit in the Slovak Republic, but have been residing in the territory of the Slovak Republic for more than three months and want to participate in the European Parliament elections, you must apply for the first permit registration. The application for the first permit registration must be submitted in person at the local Foreign Police department according to your place of residence. Contacts can be found directly on the website of the Ministry of Interior of the SR. Along with the application, you must attach your passport. The relevant police unit will issue a confirmation of the first permit registration on the day of the application.
You will be added to the list of voters in the municipality of your permanent residence based on the submission of the application and the confirmation. The application for enrollment in the list of voters must be submitted no later than 40 days before the election day.
- Right of EU Citizens to Stand for Election.
Conditions for candidacy in municipal elections are:
For municipal councilors: age 18, no obstacles – no deprivation or restriction of legal capacity or execution of a prison sentence, For mayors: age 25, no obstacles – no deprivation or restriction of legal capacity or execution of a prison sentence. Conditions for candidacy in European Parliament elections are:
Age 21, the right to stand for election in the EU member state of which you are a national, no obstacles to exercising the right to vote, and permission for permanent residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, Contact the municipality or the Ministry of Interior of the SR and inform them that you will participate in the European Parliament elections, Declare that you are not running in another EU member state, and you are not deprived of the right to be elected.
- Method of Voting in Municipal Elections.
On the ballot, mark up to as many ordinal numbers of candidates as listed on the ballot. For the election of the chairman, you can mark the ordinal number of only one candidate. In a separate space designated for adjusting the ballot, insert one ballot for municipal council elections and one ballot for the chairman’s election without further adjustment. Vote by inserting the envelope into the ballot box after leaving the special space designated for adjusting the ballots. After voting, you are obliged to put unused or incorrectly filled out ballots into a sealed box; otherwise, you commit an offense and may be fined €33.
- Method of Voting in European Parliament Elections.
In the space designated for adjusting the ballots, insert one ballot without further adjustment into the envelope and then into the ballot box. Alternatively, on one of the ballots, indicate the preference vote by marking the ordinal number of the candidate. You can mark the ordinal number of up to two candidates. Insert the adjusted ballot into the envelope and then into the ballot box.
Note: If you cannot adjust the ballot yourself due to a disability or because you cannot read or write and report this fact to the precinct election commission before voting, you have the right to bring another capable person with you to the space designated for adjusting the ballots to adjust the ballot according to your instructions, insert it into the envelope, and place the envelope into the ballot box.
Members of the precinct election commission must not adjust the ballots or insert them into the ballot box.
If you cannot come to the polling station for serious, especially health reasons, you have the right to ask the municipality to conduct the vote in a portable ballot box, but only in the territorial district for which the precinct election commission was established.