Long lines for Serbia's diaspora vote in Washington and Los Angeles
Voting at 93 polling stations in 37 countries with over 102,000 registered; CET opening hours forced night or early-morning voting in some places.
Long queues formed at multiple polling locations for Serbia's diaspora on October 25, 2026, as people travelled to cast ballots in snap parliamentary elections. Observers reported particularly long lines in Washington and Los Angeles, while similarly extended queues were seen in Vienna and Ljubljana.
Footage circulating on social media showed groups of Serbian citizens gathered at a cafe in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, before moving in an organised column to a nearby polling station. In Los Angeles, eyewitnesses described a line stretching to several hundreds of people.
Voting for the diaspora was arranged at 93 polling places across 37 countries, and more than 102,000 voters were registered to participate. Short videos and photos from several cities were shared on Instagram and X as polling began.
Opening hours set to Central European Time affected local schedules
The Republic Electoral Commission decided that polling stations abroad would open and close simultaneously with those in Serbia, from 07:00 to 20:00 Central European Time (CET). That decision meant that, depending on the local time zone, some voters had to cast their ballots overnight or in the early hours of the morning.
Practical examples included Chicago, where voting took place from 01:00 to 14:00 local time; New York and Washington, where stations were open from 02:00 to 15:00 local; and Los Angeles, where voting began at 23:00 local time.
Some diaspora associations criticised the organisation, saying that many citizens were forced to travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to reach a polling place. Serbian authorities defended the schedule and choice of locations, saying they were determined on logistical, security and staffing grounds.
Social media posts from the day captured the strain at several centres and the high turnout inside Serbia: "Huge crowd at a polling station in Ljubljana, people are waiting for hours," read one post on X. Other early tallies reported a higher morning turnout than in 2023 — for example, one monitoring group said that by 10:00 local Serbia time 19.8% of registered voters had cast ballots, roughly double the comparable figure from 2023.
Photo: NASA / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
