votación
/botaˈθjon/feminine
The Spanish word for voting is votación.
votación is used to describe the action of voting or the voting process as a whole.
Meaning: action of the verb to vote (verb)
Which one should you use?
While votación refers to the event or the process (the noun), votar is the verb used to describe the action of casting a vote. Additionally, voto refers to an individual vote or the physical ballot, whereas votación refers to the collective process of voting.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun votación is feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/botaˈθjon/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, voto refers to a political vote, but it is also the word for a religious vow. This means a person can take a voto de silencio or 'vow of silence' using the same word used in a votación.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the act of 'votar' is not just a right but a legal obligation, and failing to participate can sometimes lead to administrative penalties.
- The word 'votar' is a complete 'false friend' to the English verb 'to boot' (as in 'to boot someone out'), which in Spanish is 'botar'.
Examples in context
- ¿Dónde está la mesa de votación?Where's the voting booth?This sentence is useful for asking for the location of a voting booth using votación.Tatoeba #7144920 by arh, translation #9645769 by DJ_Saidez
- La votación prosiguió.The voting continued.This sentence is useful for stating that the voting continued using votación.Tatoeba #1387979 by marcelostockle, translation #804298 by Source_VOA
- Ahora solo queda ratificar el resultado de la votación, por favor firmen aquí y aquí.Now, we just need to ratify the voting results. Please sign here and here.This sentence is useful for discussing the ratification of voting results using votación.Tatoeba #10660001 by Shishir, translation #12858912 by mexicanhere
- La participación en las elecciones es fundamental para fortalecer la democracia.Participation in voting is essential to strengthen democracy.
- Voy a ejercer mi derecho al voto en las próximas elecciones.I'm going to exercise my right to vote in the upcoming elections.
- El proceso de votación se llevará a cabo el próximo domingo.The voting process will take place next Sunday.
- Se abrieron los centros de votación a las 8 de la mañana.The polling stations opened at 8 in the morning.
- Estoy emocionado por votar por primera vez.I'm excited to vote for the first time.
- El domingo vamos a votar juntos.We're going to vote together on Sunday.
- ¿Ya sufragaste en las elecciones locales?Did you already vote in the local elections?
- Mañana ejerceremos nuestro derecho al voto en las elecciones generales.Tomorrow we will exercise our right to vote in the general elections.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are discussing the upcoming community election.
- Lucía¿Sabes cuándo es la votación?Do you know when the voting is?
- AlejandroSí, la votación será el próximo lunes.Yes, the voting will be next Monday.
- LucíaPerfecto, yo participaré en la votación.Perfect, I will participate in the voting.
- AlejandroMe alegra que vayas a votar, Lucía.I'm glad you are going to vote, Lucía.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “voting” translations and entries votación, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
