“You have to vote outside wherever possible”, asks the president of Mayenne

In two months to the day, the French will be called to the polls for the first round of departmental and regional elections, postponed for a week. But how to organize the ballot in the midst of a health crisis? While the government has unveiled the first tracks, including vaccination or failing that a test for assessors, some voices are calling for the election to be organized outside. This is the case of Olivier Richefou (UDI), president of the departmental council of Mayenne,
candidate for succession.

Why are you asking to organize the ballot outside?

When things work elsewhere, you have to know how to draw inspiration from them. Two examples have struck me recently, in addition to the fact that almost all countries have maintained their electoral calendar. First there was Israel, but the weather is nice! Much more recently, the Netherlands have also organized their parliamentary elections entirely outside. What is interesting is that the
participation rate was higher in the last elections in 2017: it shows that technically it is possible, and that it is also very important for democratic expression. No elected representative wants to be with 20% of the population. Devices have been mentioned for assessors, it is also necessary to reassure voters.

How could this happen in practice?

We must vote outside wherever possible. For a municipality which has its polling place in a school, it will suffice to leave the tables under the courtyard, the voting booth a little further. The barnums available to many municipalities can be used if the weather forecast is unfavorable. But on June 20 and 27, it will not freeze, the conditions will be quite reasonable. Where it will not be possible, too bad, but we must leave this option to the mayors. Nothing prohibits it in the electoral code, if the security of the ballot is respected, but the mayors are waiting for a real green light to organize themselves.

You argued several months ago for electronic voting …

Yes, and I regret that it has not been implemented, as in Germany, for example, where no one questions the legitimacy of those elected! In France, there is a suspicion of fraud which says that postal voting could be influenced by a third party. For example, this vote could have been accessible to people over 70 years old. I believe that a voter should be able to vote today through different channels, and one day electronically. The objective would be for the majority of our fellow citizens to be able to express themselves. But it will be for next time.