Equal Futures

For how many hours are polls legally open on election day in OECD countries?

Ensuring that the polls are open before and after standard business hours is critical for facilitating wide access to the vote.

Not established in law means that legislation does not specify the number of hours the polls should be open, nor does it specify that all polling stations should be open from a specific starting time to a specific closing time. Subnational jurisdictions may be responsible for setting polling hours or it may be up to the individual polling stations.

Countries

Belgium - Less than 8 hours

Luxembourg - Less than 8 hours

Colombia - 8 hours

Iceland - 8 hours

Australia - 9 - 10 hours

Chile - 9 - 10 hours

France - 9 - 10 hours

Germany - 9 - 10 hours

Mexico - 9 - 10 hours

New Zealand - 9 - 10 hours

Türkiye - 9 - 10 hours

Canada - 11 - 12 hours

Costa Rica - 11 - 12 hours

Denmark - 11 - 12 hours

Estonia - 11 - 12 hours

Finland - 11 - 12 hours

Greece - 11 - 12 hours

Ireland - 11 - 12 hours

Republic of Korea - 11 - 12 hours

Latvia - 11 - 12 hours

Portugal - 11 - 12 hours

Slovenia - 11 - 12 hours

Spain - 11 - 12 hours

Sweden - 11 - 12 hours

Czech Republic - More than 12 hours

Hungary - More than 12 hours

Israel - More than 12 hours

Italy - More than 12 hours

Japan - More than 12 hours

Lithuania - More than 12 hours

The Netherlands - More than 12 hours

Poland - More than 12 hours

Slovakia - More than 12 hours

United Kingdom - More than 12 hours

Austria - Not established in law

Norway - Not established in law

Switzerland - Not established in law

United States of America - Not established in law