Cantabria sets paid leave for the general elections on November 29

The Official Gazette of Cantabria publishes this Monday, October 26, 2026, Order PRE/155/2026, of October 19, which establishes the paid leave and working hour reductions for personnel serving the Administration of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria on the occasion of the General Elections of November 29, 2026. The regulation, signed by the counselor of Presidency, Justice, Security, and Administrative Simplification, María Isabel Urrutia de los Mozos, appears in section 2.3 (Others) of issue number 205 of the gazette, with official reference CVE-2026-8266.

Four hours for voting and for mail-in voting

The first section of the order grants public employees who provide service on election day during voting hours a paid leave of four hours, within the working day, to exercise their right to vote. When work is performed on a reduced schedule, the leave will be reduced proportionally.

The distribution of this period corresponds to the holders of the General Secretariats, the General Directorates, or the equivalent body of the public law organisms and entities linked to or dependent on the Cantabrian Government, who must attend to the organization of work and the proper functioning of the services.

The second section also extends four hours of paid leave, during working hours, to those who provide service far from their habitual residence or under conditions that hinder voting, both to personally request the certification accrediting registration in the census and to send the vote by mail.

Full day for polling station members, scrutineers, and proxies

The third section regulates the leave for those directly participating in the electoral day. They will be entitled to full-day paid leave on the day of voting—if they do not enjoy their weekly rest on that date—and the immediately following day:

• Employees appointed as president or member of the Polling Stations.
• Those who prove their status as scrutineers.
• Those who prove their status as proxies.

Dispensation for candidates during the campaign

The fourth section establishes that public employees who run as candidates will be dispensed from providing service in their workplaces throughout the official duration of the electoral campaign, provided a written request is submitted by the interested parties. The granting of this leave corresponds to the head of the General Secretariat of the Department in which the candidate provides service or, where applicable, to the competent body by reason of the subject matter in the dependent public law organisms and entities.

The order is based on articles 28.1, 76.4, and 78.4 of the Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regime, and on the Law of Cantabria 4/1993, of March 10, on the Civil Service, the VIII Collective Agreement for contractual staff, and the Law of Cantabria 9/2010, of December 23, on statutory personnel of health institutions. The text also invokes article 23 of the Constitution and Royal Decree 605/1999, of April 16, on the complementary regulation of electoral processes, as the basis for the regulatory power.

Supplementary application and entry into force

The sole additional provision allows these provisions to be applied supplementarily to the rest of the entities that make up the Public Sector of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, beyond the general Administration. The sole final provision sets the entry into force on the day following its publication in the BOC, that is, October 27, 2026.

The regulation arrives with slightly more than a month’s margin before the electoral date and affects all regional personnel, including those of health institutions and dependent bodies. For services with shifts and public attention, the practical key will be how each General Secretariat and General Directorate staggers the four hours of leave without affecting ordinary activity, while candidates must formalize their exemption for the entire campaign in writing.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 205, October 26, 2026, section 2.3 (Others), pp. 54901-54902 (official reference: CVE-2026-8266).