FAQ - National Election Office
- When do I get my electoral notification regarding the venue of my polling station?
Latest 5 April the National Election Office sends a notice to voters on the basis of the voter registration data of 20 March 2019 that they have been enrolled and where the designated polling station of their constituency is located.
- What is to be done if someone does not get the electoral notification?
Voters may request from the local election office (settlement clerk) another electoral notification if the previous one got lost, damaged or did not arrive. Moreover presenting the electoral notification is not subject to take part on the election.
- How does the nomination process go?
Party list nomination period lasts from 19 April 2019 to 16.00 o’clock 23 April 2019.
Every voter may recommend a list by signing the collection sheet.
A voter may recommend more than one party list, but each party list can be recommended only once. The recommendation cannot be revoked.
20 000 valid recommendations are needed for putting forward a party list.
- When does the election campaign start?
The election campaign lasts from 6 April (Saturday) 2019 until 26 May (Sunday) 19.00 o’clock.
- I am a disabled person. What help can I ask for?
Voters with disability may request the following assistance to exercise their voting rights:
- Notification in Braille transcription sent to their address. The deadline to request this notification is 16.00 o’clock 19 March (Tuesday) 2019.
- Simplified information material sent to their address. The deadline to request this notification is 16.00 o’clock 19 March (Tuesday) 2019.
- Use of a Braille voting template at the polling station or during mobile voting. The deadline to request this template is 16.00 o’clock 17 May (Friday) 2019.
- Use of an accessible polling station. The deadline to request this polling station is 16.00 o’clock 22 May (Wednesday) 2019.
Voters with a disability may request a mobile ballot box as well. The conditions of request can be seen under the following point. Requests can be submitted from 21 March (Thursday) 2019.
A person chosen by you may help you while filling in the ballot paper, or if there is no such a person present, two members of the polling station commission can be at your service.
- Who can apply for a mobile ballot box and how?
Applications for mobile voting may be submitted by voters who are limited as to their movement:
- due to their health condition (or disability), or
- detention.
Applications for mobile voting for any other reasons (e.g., convenience) will be rejected by the local election office or by the polling station commission.
Mobile ballot box can be applied for
- via mail or by electronic means without using the citizen portal till 16.00 o’clock on 22 May (Wednesday) 2019,
- in person or by electronic means using the citizen portal (Ügyfélkapu) till 16.00 o’clock on 24 May (Friday) 2019,
- by electronic means using the citizen portal from 16.00 o’clock 24 May (Friday) 2019 till 12.00 o’clock election day from the local election office,
- till 12.00 o’clock 26 May (Sunday) 2019 from the polling station commission, where the voter is enrolled.
It is also important to note that those who have applied for a mobile ballot box cannot vote „by the normal way” at polling district, but only by mobile voting.
Requests for mobile voting can be submitted from 21 March (Thursday) 2019.
Requests can be withdrawn via mail, or by electronic means through the citizen portal till 16.00 o ‘clock 22 May (Wednesday) 2019, in person or by electronic means through the citizen portal till 16.00 o’clock 24 May (Friday) 2019.
There is no need to change your polling district, if you wish to apply for a mobile ballot box other than your declared place of residence.
- When and how can I apply for changing polling district during the European Parliamentary Elections?
A request for changing polling district may be submitted by voters who will be within the territory of Hungary on election day, but in the area of a different polling district than the one of their Hungarian address.
Requests may be submitted from 21 March (Thursday) 2019 not later than 16.00 o’clock (Wednesday) 22 May 2019.
Changing polling district is possible to any Hungarian settlements (or district of Budapest).
Due to your health status or in case of detention, if one is not able to appear in the polling district, it is also possible to apply for a mobile ballot box while changing polling district.
A request for changing polling district can be
- modified till 16.00 o’clock 22 May (Wednesday) 2019 or
withdrawn – in case of using the citizen portal by electronic means or via mail
- withdrawn till 16.00 o’clock 24 May (Friday) 2019 – in person or in case of using the citizen portal (Ügyfélkapu).
- What should voters with Hungarian address do, if they would like to vote abroad?
Voters with Hungarian address are automatically enrolled to the central electoral register.
Who wants to exercise his/her right to vote abroad, has to request for entry in the foreign representation register from the municipality clerk of his/her residence. Requests can be filed in person, via mail, or on the website www.valasztas.hu.
Requests for entry in the foreign representation register can be submitted from 21 March (Thursday) 2019, and the applications should arrive to the assigned office not later than 16.00 o’clock 17 May (Friday) 2019.
- How can homeless people vote?
In case a homeless person has a residence of settlement level, they have the right to vote at the polling station designated in that settlement. The local mayor’s office will provide information concerning addresses of designated polling stations.
In case a homeless person does not have a residence of settlement level either, he/she should register at any local election office to be enrolled in the electoral register for voters with no Hungarian address till 16.00 o’clock 2 May (Thursday) 2019. In this case he/she can vote by mail.
- I am a Hungarian citizen, but I do not have an address either in Hungary or in any Member State of the European Union. How can I vote for the Hungarian party lists in the European Parliamentary Elections?
From 2019 on Hungarian voters living outside of the territory of the European Union, and having no address in Hungary according to the Hungarian register of residence can vote by mail in the European Parliamentary Elections. To do this, they should register to be enrolled in the electoral register on the website www.valasztas.hu or via mail latest 16.00 o’clock 2 May (Thursday) 2019.
Voters having registered like this are only allowed to vote by mail.
- I have already registered before. Do I need to register again?
Former registrations are valid for ten years, so once you have finished your registration for the parliamentary elections in 2014 or 2018 or for the national referendum in 2016, you do not need to register again.
However, if you are not enrolled in the Hungarian register of residence you can only vote, if you give us your address that is outside of the European Union
- I do not want the voting package to be posted to my address. What shall I do in this case?
It is possible to ask for receiving the postal package in person, or to give another postal address till 16.00 o’clock 2 May (Thursday) 2019. You can modify your data any time. That is why it is recommendable to do this before the expiry of the period, until the National Election Office mails your voting package.
Due to modification of your address only after having received your voting package, it is not possible to receive another one.
- I am a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union, I do not have a Hungarian nationality, but I live in Hungary. How can I vote for the Hungarian lists in the European Parliamentary Elections?
You can ask to be enrolled to the Hungarian electoral register at the competent local election office of your place of residence not later than 16.00 o’clock 10 May (Friday) 2019.
Application can be submitted on the website www.valasztas.hu , via mail or in person.
If you have already registered successfully before, then you do not need to register again, your registration is still valid.
After a successful registration the National Election Office contacts the electoral authorities of your nationality, who delete you from the electoral register of that country. Thus a single vote is granted for voters within the European Union.
- I am a Hungarian citizen, but I live in another Member State of the European Union and have no citizenship of that country. In the European Parliamentary Elections, how can I vote for the candidates of the foreign country where I live in?
You can apply for entry on the electoral roll under the law of the foreign country you live in. In this case – under the notification received from the Member State – the National Election Office deletes you from the Hungarian register, avoiding double voting. Regarding the details the competent authorities of the Member State give you information.
- What about my voting rights due to Brexit?
Having regard to the fact that the United Kingdom did not leave the European Union until 30 April, the United Kingdom will still be a Member State of the European Union, thus:
In case you are a citizen of the United Kingdom and have an address in Hungary, you may vote on party lists in the European Parliamentary Election in Hungary, if you request to be enrolled into the register until 16:00 o’clock 10 May. If your earlier application has been rejected by the local election office, without request, and automatically, the local election office will bring a new decision and you will be enrolled. British citizens will receive a special notification in all cases about this.
If you are a Hungarian citizen living in the UK, and do not have a Hungarian address, according to the legislation of the UK, you may take part in the election, and may vote on the lists of parties there, which have put forward lists. Please, ask for details at the electoral authorities of the UK.
In case you are a Hungarian citizen living in the UK, and have a Hungarian address, you should apply for enrolment into the foreign representation electoral register. The application has to arrive to the competent election office until 16:00 o’clock 17 May 2019. Foreign representation election offices in the UK are in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Hungarian citizens living in the UK cannot use postal voting, because at the time of the Election of the Members of the European Parliament the UK will still be a Member State of the European Union.
- Can voters staying abroad, but having a Hungarian address vote by postal voting as well, or only at foreign representations?
Voters with Hungarian address, voting abroad can cast their votes only at foreign representations of Hungary, not by mail.
Click here to find contacts of foreign representation election offices.
- When does voting take place at foreign representations?
Date and place of voting at foreign representations, see the detailed table below.
- What are the conditions of voting?
Voters who are on the electoral register can vote at polling stations. They have to provide proof of their identity (valid identity card, passport or driving license), and address (residence card) or personal identification number. Afterwards voters receive a stamped ballot paper, and prove it with their signature
- When does voting take place in Hungary?
Voting takes place between 06.00 and 19.00 o’clock on 26 May (Sunday) 2019.
- What happens if I’m still standing in a queue after 19.00 waiting to vote? Am I not allowed to vote?
Under the Law voters already standing in line at 19.00 can cast their ballots.
After 19.00 no additional voters may join the queue.
- When is the result of the European Parliamentary Election made public?
The informative data – except of the number of voters having appeared in the European Parliamentary Elections – containing the unofficial result of the election may only be published after voting has finished in all Member States of the European Union, i.e. after 23.00 o’clock on 26 May.
- When and how are votes cast at foreign representations counted?
After closing the voting the sealed ballot boxes are delivered from the foreign representations not later than 24.00 o’clock 30 May (Thursday) 2019 to the National Election Office.
The National Election Office opens the ballot boxes containing votes cast at foreign representations and counts them under the supervision of the National Election Commission.
- How do votes turn into mandate?
Only those lists can take part in the distribution of mandates, and can win seats, which gained more votes than 5% of all the valid votes cast.
Votes cast are converted to mandates by using the d’Hondt matrix.
- What does d’Hondt matrix mean?
D’Hondt matrix is a formula invented by the Belgian mathematician Victor d’Hondt which is used to convert votes into mandates in several countries in the world.
Votes cast for each party are divided by one, two, three, four etc., then the numbers gained this way are put in decreasing order and in each row as many numbers are selected (always looking for the next bigger number) as there are mandates to be distributed (in this case 12).
You can find an example below how 100 votes are converted into 12 mandates. (That is the 40 votes of party “A” result in 5 mandates, the 30 votes of party “B” result in 4 mandates, the 20 votes of party “C” result in 2 mandates, and the 10 votes of party “D” result in 1 mandate).
party A
40 votes
party B
30 votes
party C
20 votes
party D
10 votes
1
40/1 = 40,00
30/1 = 30,00
20/1 = 20,00
10/1 = 10,00
2
40/2 = 20,00
30/2 = 15,00
20/2 = 10,00
10/2 = 5,00
3
40/3 = 13,33
30/3 = 10,00
20/3 = 6,67
10/3 = 3,33
4
40/4 = 10,00
30/4 = 7,50
20/4 = 5,00
10/4 = 2,50
5
40/5 = 8,00
30/5 = 6,00
20/5 = 4,00
10/5 = 2,00
6
40/6 = 6,67
30/6 = 5,00
20/6 = 3,33
10/6 = 1,67
- What election commissions work during the Election of the Members of the European Parliament?
During the Election of the Members of the European Parliament the following election commissions work: polling station commission, territorial election commission, National Election Commission.
- What differences and similarities are there between the Parliamentary and European Parliamentary Elections?
Parliamentary Elections
8 April 2018
European Parliamentary Elections
26 May 2019
199 mandates
21 Hungarian mandates
(Total 705)
After registration, voters with no Hungarian address can vote by mail
After registration, voters with no address either in Hungary or in other Member States of the European Union can vote by mail
Only Hungarian citizens with voting rights are allowed to take part in the elections
After registration, voters of other Member States of the European Union with Hungarian address can vote
Votes can be cast for individual candidates and for national lists
There are no individual candidates, votes can be cast only for lists
Party lists and preferential minority lists
Only party lists
Nominating a candidate: 500 valid recommendations are to be collected
Putting forward a list: 20000 valid recommendations are to be collected
Voting schedule from 06.00 till 19.00 o’clock
Valid votes can be cast only by drawing two intersecting lines
Voters with Hungarian address, but staying abroad can vote at foreign representations
The threshold for parliamentary representation is 5%
There is no campaign silence, but during election day it is not possible to hold election rallies, broadcast political advertisements, and no election campaign activities may be pursued in public areas within 150 metres of the designated building’s entrance that is used to access to polling stations.