Spain's electoral board lets voters use the MiDNI digital ID app on 29 November

The decision

Spain's Junta Electoral Central (JEC) lifted, on Thursday, 5 November, its suspension of the MiDNI app as an identification tool at polling stations. The board acted after the Ministry of the Interior confirmed that polling stations will have a device with a camera and browser that carries the verifier for MiDNI's temporary QR codes. The authorisation applies to the 29 November general election, provided the board's identity checks are met.

The resolution covers MiDNI only. The MiDGT app from the Dirección General de Tráfico, a digital driving licence, remains barred for identification at the polls. The physical DNI stays valid, and the digital version carries the same legal effect as the card for the uses set out in Spanish law. El Periódico reports that the request to lift the suspension came from the director general of Interior Policy.

How the check works

Under the procedure described, a voter generates a temporary QR code in the app and opens it in front of the polling table. The table's device checks the code against the official MiDNI website. The JEC requires that table members can confirm the credential is genuine and was generated at that moment. The board has refused exceptions, insisting on 'all or none' of the polling stations being equipped.

The emergency contract

Interior awarded the supply directly to Telefónica Defensa y Seguridad under an emergency procedure, according to El Confidencial. The file lists 61,603 devices at a total of 7,000,455 euros including VAT, or 113.64 euros per device. The devices are not bought by the state and must be returned after the vote. The process began in mid-October, and the emergency was declared on 13 October, with 47 days left before the election. La Razón puts the rental at more than 61,000 readers worth over 7 million euros, and says Interior expects to certify the emergency contract.

The file invokes article 120 of the Public Sector Contracts Law, but El Confidencial reports it contains no specific explanation of why an ordinary tender could not have been run earlier. On 27 October the Council of Ministers amended Correos' electoral duties to deliver and collect the devices, a change registered in the Boletín Oficial del Estado.

Political reaction and background

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, attacked the ministry's push in social media posts.

“There is no emergency that justifies the contract.”

She described the ministry's efforts to shield the app as an illegal botch. The sources disagree on when the suspension began. Eldiario.es and El Confidencial place it on 26 March, while La Vanguardia gives 18 September. ABC says the earlier ban followed several appeals by the Partido Popular ahead of the Andalusian regional elections, and La Razón reports that the JEC had found 'deficiencies' by the end of March.

What happens next

Correos is to deliver the devices to polling stations and collect them afterwards. El Confidencial, which published before the JEC decision, said the devices' use was still awaiting the board's final approval. The general election is on 29 November, and the devices must be returned once the vote is over.