Officials propose moving San Diego polling station ahead of presidential runoff

Federico Gutiérrez, the mayor of Medellín, asked Colombia’s Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil on June 3 to relocate the polling station at Centro Comercial San Diego before the presidential runoff scheduled for June 21. The request followed complaints from voters during the May 31 first round, when voting tables were set up on the mall’s 11th floor instead of the ground-floor area used in earlier elections. City officials said the change created bottlenecks, long lines and access problems for older voters, people with reduced mobility and pregnant women. The case matters because Colombia’s voter registration window for the 2026 presidential election closed on March 31 and does not reopen between the first and second rounds. That means voters assigned to the San Diego polling station cannot simply switch to another location on their own ahead of the runoff, according to reporting citing the Registraduría’s rules and public guidance from the election authority’s polling-place lookup system. (caracol.com.co) ### Why did Medellín ask for the San Diego site to be moved? Gutiérrez directed the request to national registrar Hernán Penagos Giraldo after what Caracol Radio described as multiple complaints and logistical problems during the May 31 vote. The mayor’s office said the 11th-floor setup collided with heavy voter turnout and the limited capacity of the building’s elevators. (eltiempo.com) The mayor asked that the polling station be returned to the first floor of Centro Comercial San Diego or moved to another space that would allow quicker and safer access for voters. In the text of the request quoted by Caracol Radio, the city said it was ready to support whatever measures were needed so that no voter would face barriers when trying to cast a ballot. (caracol.com.co) ### What exactly went wrong on May 31? May 31 brought complaints from voters who said the traditional polling point had been moved from the usual lower-level areas to the 11th floor of the shopping center. El Colombiano reported congestion at entrances, delays and difficulty reaching the voting tables, with particular problems for older people and others with mobility constraints. (caracol.com.co) A voter quoted by El Colombiano said she had voted there for 26 years and that access had previously been much easier. The same report said the available elevators were not enough for the volume of people arriving to vote, and some citizens said people with mobility issues had to use stairs for part of the route. (elcolombiano.com) ### Who controls the location of the polling station? The Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil runs Colombia’s elections and maintains the official voter-location system. The shopping center said the decision to place the polling station inside the complex was not made by mall management and that the Registraduría had assigned the site within the building. The city’s letter is therefore a formal request, not a final decision. (elcolombiano.com) Any change for the runoff would need to be adopted by the electoral authority that assigned the site for the first-round vote. ### Can individual voters change their polling place before the runoff? The Registraduría’s rules for the 2026 presidential election do not allow a new round of voter registration or polling-place changes between rounds. (registraduria.gov.co) El Tiempo reported that the deadline to register a cédula or request a polling-place change expired on March 31, and that voters must cast ballots at the place already listed in the electoral roll. (caracol.com.co) That makes the San Diego dispute different from a normal voter request to change locations. If the Registraduría approves a relocation, the adjustment would come from the authority itself and voters would need to verify the assigned site through the official “Lugar de votación” consultation tool. (eltiempo.com) ### What should voters watch for next? June 21 is the date set for Colombia’s presidential runoff between Abelardo de la Espriella and Iván Cepeda, according to reporting on the post-first-round calendar. Before then, the key next step is whether Hernán Penagos Giraldo and Medellín’s electoral registrars approve the mayor’s request for San Diego and publish the final location through the Registraduría’s voter-consultation channels. (caracol.com.co) (eltiempo.com)