Procedure referred to in certain elections to allow the exercise of the right to vote in a more comprehensive way and that encourages participation, so that the emission of this suffrage is not contemplated only in a single day, but it can be done before the election day, although counting is not done until this very day.

Such a vote can be exercised well in person, through polling stations established in the territory or abroad, usually thanks to the cooperation of the different consular offices, by mail, in such a way that it does not require the physical presence of the voter in the electoral premises during the day of voting.

In addition, for reasons of accessibility, the advance vote is contemplated in certain territories that have regions of difficult access or whose inhabitants can hardly move. In these cases, mechanisms are activated to bring the possibility of voting to citizens, such as mobile voting units.

Deadlines and characteristics of early voting are determined in each State’s electoral regime. They tend to range between one and fifteen days in advance, although it is common that they oscillate between five and fifteen. During these days, all the resources necessary to carry out a vote must be enabled, and also those which are necessary to get that the votes are properly recorded and computed in time.

The total counting of ballots issued in a process of this kind may cause that the final results could be delayed more, especially in the case of voting by mail, while it is true that it is usually possible to formulate a few first forecasts neaby the final results once they are counted.

Other elements that need to be controlled in a process of early voting are electoral materials. On the one hand, it is important that ballot papers that will be used are properly guarded until the start of the poll. When ballots are contained in sealed envelopes, it is necessary to create conditions that guarantee the anonymity of the voter and the secret of the vote. Also all materials which were not used must be stored safely both before and after the vote (Red de Conocimientos Electorales).

Voting by mail is contemplated as a possible modality of voting in multiple countries, but also on-site voting during several days is allowed in countries such as Malaysia and Canada. In Canada, the law allows the participation in advance, as well as voting by mail. Similarly, for those citizens whose freedom is restricted – prisoners in penitentiary institutions, patients admitted to hospitals-, the law offers the possibility of voting by special ballot or through a system of mobile voting units that run through these places (Kingsley, 2011: 78).

In Canada, the electoral law also allows that early voting is developed in certain places enabled between the tenth and the seventh day before election day, that is, the weekend before election day set, or in any office of the agency responsible for the electoral process since elections are announced. Similarly, presential vote during the day convened is contemplated, and also the possibility that voters could request a special credential to vote by mail from inside or outside the country.