After the hour, it’s not the hour anymore. Sunday, the French are again called to the polls for the second round of the presidential election. In general, the working hours of polling stations are between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.. If it is not possible to reduce it, the municipalities are free to increase it if necessary until 8 p.m. This is the case in many large cities, except in Lille. Explanations.
On April 10, during the first round of the presidential election, some Lille voters, who came to do their civic duty at the end of the afternoon, very nearly couldn’t vote. In two offices in particular, queues still snaked outside as closing time approached. An extension had been granted in extremis by the prefecture to allow voters to cast their ballots. This remains a rare case due to poor office layout. Less rare are the people who arrive running a few seconds after closing and who are surprised not to be able to vote as 20 minutes noted it at the office installed in the town hall of Lille.
“Closing at 7 p.m. is the right balance in Lille”
Would the solution be to push back the closing time to 8 p.m.? In cities where 20 minutes has a local branch, only Rennes closes its offices at 7 p.m. The others, whether their population is lower or higher than Lille, grant their voters a bonus hour. Contacted by 20 minutes, the Nord prefecture confirms that this is done by prefectural decree at the request of the town hall. And, for the 2022 presidential election, “no decree has been taken for the North department”, assures us the representative of the State.
And again, before 2017, the Lille offices closed their doors at 6 p.m., with the exception of the regional offices of 2015 where voters could vote until 8 p.m. “Experience shows us that closing at 7 p.m. is the right balance in Lille”, explains the municipality to 20 minutes. Indeed, according to the city, whether the hourly amplitude is 10, 11 or 12 hours has “absolutely no consequence on the capacity of our polling stations to accommodate all voters”.
With a thousand registered on average per office, knowing that the city has 127, this is therefore equivalent to 91 voters per hour for a closing at 7 p.m. with a utopian participation of 100%. Sunday, everything should go like clockwork, provided that Lille voters wake up on time and that the city provides flawless logistics.