Editing Elections in Spain (section)

== Electoral procedures ==
The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.<ref name="Electoral law, 1985">{{cite web |url=http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Admin/lo5-1985.html |title=Law governing electoral procedures |access-date=6 March 2011}}</ref>) Under this law, the elections are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, [[polling station]]s are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.<ref name="OSCE report 2008">{{cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/02/29695_en.pdf |format=PDF |title=OSCE observers task force report on 2008 Spanish election |publisher=Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe OSCE |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-date=2 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091102232314/http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/02/29695_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The format of the [[ballot paper]] is designed by the Spanish state, however, the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside [[ballot box]]es in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full [[recount]]s are impossible.<ref name="OSCE report 2004">{{cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2004/04/2777_en.pdf |format=PDF |title=OSCE observers task force report on 2004 Spanish election |publisher=Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe, OSCE |access-date=6 August 2008 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022131/http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2004/04/2777_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>