Political elections: voting process
Verified 13 October 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
To vote on election (or referendum) day, you must go to the polling station. The polling station opens at 8am. It usually closes at 6pm, but this time can be postponed until 8pm in some cases. We present you the information you need to know depending on whether the vote takes place at the ballot box (general case) or at a polling station equipped with a voting machine.
At the ballot box
To know the address of your polling station, you can use this online service:
Check your electoral registration and polling station
Warning
If you are a New Caledonia voter, you must use another online service.
Polling station times vary depending on the election:
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
General case
It is possible to vote from 8am to 6pm.
But an order from the prefect can advance or delay these times. In large cities, it is often possible to vote until 8pm.
To know the hours of your polling station, contact your town hall.
Presidential election
It is possible to vote from 8am to 7pm.
A decree of the prefect can advance the start time or delay the end time, without being able to exceed 20h.
To know the hours of your polling station, contact your town hall.
The polling station is not a place open to everyone.
The only people who can enter are:
- Persons who hold the polling station
- Voters who vote at this office
- Persons responsible for monitoring voting operations.
In addition, voters are subject to certain restrictions. They are not allowed to enter the polling station with a gun. Any discussion or deliberation of voters within the office is also prohibited.
The president of the polling station can expel a voter who would disrupt or slow down the electoral operations.
The documents to be submitted vary according to the size of the municipality in which you vote:
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Municipality of 1,000 inhabitants or more
To vote, you must present:
- Either one identity document and your electoral map
- Either one identity document only.
Warning
If you have been registered on decision of the judge (after a refusal to register or an erroneous cancelation), you must provide proof of this decision.
Municipality of less than 1,000 inhabitants
To vote, it is not mandatory to present a identity document.
However, if you are in doubt about your identity, the president of the polling station can ask you to prove your identity by any means.
Warning
If you have been registered on decision of the judge (after a refusal to register or an erroneous cancelation), you must provide proof of this decision.
Reminder
To vote, you must go to the polling station indicated on your electoral card.
The staff checks that you are registered at the polling station.
You have to take an envelope.
You must then:
- Take at least 2 ballots (to preserve the confidentiality of the choice)
- Or use one of the ballots that were sent to you at home.
You must go to the voting booth and then go to the ballot box.
The members of the office verify your identity and make sure that you only have one envelope. Then the urn is opened to allow you to insert the envelope. At this stage, you are the only one who has the right to touch the envelope.
You must then sign the login list. If you are unable to do so, an elector of your choice may sign by registering The voter cannot sign for himself.
The date of the vote is written on your electoral card. Your card is then returned to you.
FYI
If you have been wrongly forgotten or removed from the list of electors, you can go to court until the office closes.
Who shall I contact
The counting begins as soon as the voting operations close. It takes place publicly by the scrutineers solicited during the day.
It is divided into several stages:
- The members of the board count the signings.
The urn is open. The number of envelopes and the number of ballots without envelopes are checked and compared to the number of entries. - The envelopes containing the ballots are grouped in packets of 100. Each package is inserted into a large envelope. Large envelopes are sealed and signed by the president and at least 2 assessors.
- The large envelopes are distributed between the counting tables and opened by the scrutineers.
- The 1er deputy returning officer opens each voting envelope. He unfolds the ballot and passes it to a 2d scrutineer who reads it aloud and intelligible. The last 2 tellers note the number of votes on result sheets.
- The tellers sign the result sheets. They hand them over to the office along with the ballots and envelopes, the validity of which seemed doubtful. The board then decides whether a ballot or an envelope is valid.
Drafting of minutes
Immediately after the counting, the secretary of the office draws up a report, in the presence of the voters.
The minutes shall indicate in particular the number of votes cast, the number of blank and void votes cast and the number of votes obtained by each candidate or list.
It traces the progress of the operations, and relates any possible complaint of the voters or delegates.
Proclamation of results
After the minutes have been drawn up, the president of the bureau shall announce the result in public.
The result is also displayed in the voting room.
The result shall include the following information:
- Number of voters registered on the electoral roll
- Number of voters
- Votes cast
- Votes (number of votes) received by each candidate or list.
FYI
One blank or null vote is counted in the number of voters, but not in the votes cast.
Voting machine
To know the address of your polling station, you can use this online service:
Check your electoral registration and polling station
Warning
If you are a New Caledonia voter, you must use another online service.
Polling station times vary depending on the election:
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
General case
It is possible to vote from 8am to 6pm.
But an order from the prefect can advance or delay these times. In large cities, it is often possible to vote until 8pm.
To know the hours of your polling station, contact your town hall.
Presidential election
It is possible to vote from 8am to 7pm.
A decree of the prefect can advance the start time or delay the end time, without being able to exceed 20h.
To know the hours of your polling station, contact your town hall.
The polling station is not a place open to everyone.
The only people who can enter are:
- Persons who hold the polling station
- Voters who vote at this office
- Persons responsible for monitoring voting operations.
In addition, voters are subject to certain restrictions. They are not allowed to enter the polling station with a gun. Any discussion or deliberation of voters within the office is also prohibited.
The president of the polling station can expel a voter who would disrupt or slow down the electoral operations.
The documents to be submitted vary according to the size of the municipality in which you vote:
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Municipality of 1,000 inhabitants or more
To vote, you must present:
- Either one identity document and your electoral map
- Either one identity document only.
Warning
If you have been registered on decision of the judge (after a refusal to register or an erroneous cancelation), you must provide proof of this decision.
Municipality of less than 1,000 inhabitants
To vote, it is not mandatory to present a identity document.
However, if you are in doubt about your identity, the president of the polling station can ask you to prove your identity by any means.
Warning
If you have been registered on decision of the judge (after a refusal to register or an erroneous cancelation), you must provide proof of this decision.
Reminder
To vote, you must go to the polling station indicated on your electoral card.
The staff checks that you are registered at the polling station.
Bureau members verify your identity.
You must then go to the voting booth and vote by selecting the number that corresponds to your choice (list, candidate, blank vote).
You then sign the login list. If you are unable to do so, an elector of your choice may sign by registering The voter cannot sign for himself.
Finally, the date of the election is affixed to your card which is returned to you.
FYI
If you have been wrongly forgotten or removed from the list of electors, you can go to court until the office closes.
Who shall I contact
The counting does not take place. The result of the votes is known instantly.
Minutes
The minutes shall be drawn up by the secretary of the bureau immediately.
It shall include the following information:
- Number of votes cast
- Number of blank votes
- Number of votes obtained by each candidate or list.
It traces the voting process, and possibly any complaints from voters or delegates.
Proclamation of results
Once the minutes have been drawn up, the result is proclaimed in public by the president of the bureau and displayed in the voting room.
It shall include the following information:
- Number of voters registered on the list of electors
- Number of voters (all votes)
- Votes cast
- Votes cast (number of votes) for each candidate or list.
FYI
One blank vote is counted in the number of voters, but not in the votes cast.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
If you vote in France
Town HallIf you vote abroad
French Embassy or Consulate Abroad
Voting operations
Voting operations
FAQ
Service-Public.fr
Service-Public.fr
Service-Public.fr
Vie-publique.fr
Ministry of Social Affairs
Association of the Paralyzed of France
Ministry of the Interior
Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs