Concerns all voters: A 5-step guide to voting for local elections

There are only a few days left until the local elections on March 31, 2024.

In the election, which has 61 million 441 thousand 882 registered voters, 1 million 32 thousand 610 young people will vote for the first time. More than 206 thousand ballot boxes will be set up across the country for the elections, in which candidates from 34 political parties will compete.

In the elections where 81 provincial, 973 district, and 390 town mayors, as well as 50 thousand 336 neighborhood heads (muhtars) will be determined, elections for provincial general assembly members and municipal council members will also be held.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) has set up representative voting booths at its headquarters regarding the voting process.

Accordingly, voters will cast their votes only at the ballot boxes where they are registered, at the location and ballot box specified on the voter information slip sent to their address.

The 5 steps for the voter to carry out the voting process are as follows:

1- Where to vote can be learned from the voter information slip or online:

Voters will be able to check where and at which ballot box they will vote via the YSK website, the e-Government portal, the YSK Voter Inquiry Mobile Application, or the YSK Call Center at "444 9 975".

It will not be mandatory to bring the voter information slip on election day.

In the provinces of Adıyaman, Ağrı, Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Kars, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Muş, Ordu, Rize, Siirt, Sivas, Trabzon, Tunceli, Şanlıurfa, Van, Bayburt, Batman, Şırnak, Ardahan, Iğdır, and Kilis, and in the penal institutions located in these provinces, the start and end times for voting will be applied as 07.00-16.00.

In provinces other than these, voting hours will be 08.00-17.00.

If there are voters waiting to cast their votes at the ballot box when the voting end time arrives, the ballot box committee chair will allow them to cast their votes in order after counting the voters and taking their identification. Voters who arrive after the voting time has ended will not be able to vote.

2- The voter will need to have an identification document with a citizenship number on it:

Voters arriving at the polls will present one of the official, photo-bearing documents that "clearly establish their identity" to the chair, such as a Republic of Turkey identity card, an official embossed ID card issued by government offices, a passport, a marriage certificate, a military service document, a driver's license, a professional ID card issued to judges, prosecutors, and members of high judicial bodies, or an attorney, notary, or military ID card, and state their voter sequence number. Voters who do not present one of these documents will not be able to vote.

3- Entering the booth with a mobile phone is prohibited:

It will be prohibited to enter the voting area with image-recording or communication devices such as mobile phones, cameras, or video recorders.

Such devices will need to be left with the ballot box committee to be returned after the voting process is completed.

4- No marks other than the official seal shall be placed on the ballot paper:

Voters will cast their votes by stamping the "PREFERENCE" (TERCİH) or "YES" (EVET) seal within the section reserved for their preferred candidates on the combined ballot papers without letting it overflow.

For the vote to be considered valid, no signatures or marks should be placed anywhere on the ballot papers other than the "PREFERENCE" or "YES" seal. Nothing other than the ballot paper shall be placed in the envelope. Voters who think they have cast an incorrect vote and request a new ballot paper will not be given a new one.

5- A signature will be provided after voting:

After casting the envelope into the ballot box, the voter will sign next to their name on the ballot box voter list.