Poll blackouts: when polls may not be published before an election
90 countries with a vote ahead or a rule on record; 24 rules read against the law itself, last on 2026-10-25. Each ban runs to the close of the last polls and is checked when you load the page.
| Country | Next vote | Ban on polls | Law | Online explicitly covered | Now | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Israel | — | — | — | — | ||
 Bulgaria | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 United States | — | — | — | — | ||
 New Zealand | — | — | — | — | ||
 Cape Verde | From 29 Oct 2026 | Código Eleitoral, art. 99.º; Lei 19/VIII/2012, art. 20.º boe.incv.cv/Bulletins/DownloadAct | unclear | From 29 Oct, 00:00 | ||
 Palestine | No ban | Decree-Law No. 1 of 2007 on General Elections maqam.najah.edu/legislation/134/ | unclear | — | ||
 Taiwan | 10 days before (from 00:00) | 公職人員選舉罷免法 第53條 (Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, art. 53) law.cec.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx | yes | From 18 Nov, 00:00 | ||
 Spain | 5 days before (from 00:00) | LOREG, art. 69.7 boe.es/buscar/act.php | unclear | From 24 Nov, 00:00 | ||
 Switzerland | No ban | Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte (BPR) fedlex.data.admin.ch/filestore/fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/cc/1978/688_688_688/20221023/de/html/fedlex-data-admin-ch-eli-cc-1978-688_688_688-20221023-de-html-11.html | unclear | — | ||
 Gambia | — | — | — | — | ||
 Guinea-Bissau | 22 days before (from 00:00) | Lei 10/2013, art. 33.º cne.gw/images/PDF/legislacaoeleitoal.pdf | unclear | From 14 Nov, 00:00 | ||
 Haiti | Date not yet official | The day before (from 00:00) | Décret électoral du 2 juin 2026, art. 217 cephaiti.ht/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/decret-electoral-.pdf | yes | From 12 Dec, 00:00 | |
 South Sudan | No ban | National Elections Act 2012 mofaic.gov.ss/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/National-Elections-Act-39-of-2012.pdf | unclear | — | ||
 Serbia | Date not yet official | 2 days before (from 00:00) | Zakon o izboru narodnih poslanika, čl. 6 rik.parlament.gov.rs/extfile/sr/41907/Zakon%20o%20izboru%20narodnih%20poslanika%20lat.pdf | yes | From 25 Dec, 00:00 | |
 Nigeria | No ban | Electoral Act 2026 nass.gov.ng/documents/download/11248 | unclear | — | ||
 Kyrgyzstan | 5 days before (from 00:00) | Constitutional Law No. 68 of 2011, art. 22 cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/203244 | yes | From 22 Jan, 00:00 | ||
 Fiji | Date not yet official | 7 days before (from 00:00) | Electoral Act 2014, s.110 feo.org.fj/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Electoral-Act-2014.pdf | yes | From 30 Jan, 00:00 | |
 El Salvador | 15 days before (from 00:00) | Código Electoral, art. 176 tse.gob.sv/storage/documentos/20250512115356-c9f0f895fb98ab9159f51fd0297e236d-XhNHWzttAO.pdf | unclear | From 13 Feb, 00:00 | ||
 Federated States of Micronesia | Date not yet official | No ban | FSM Code, Title 9 fsmlaw.org/fsm/code/code2014/FSMCode2014TabCont.html | unclear | — | |
 Estonia | Date not yet official | No ban | Riigikogu valimise seadus riigiteataja.ee/akt/124052024010 | unclear | — | |
 Netherlands | No ban | Kieswet wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0004627/2026-10-01 | unclear | — | ||
 Cameroon | Date not yet official | No ban | Code électoral (Loi 2012/001) portail.elecam.cm/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Code_Electoral.pdf | unclear | — | |
 Finland | No ban | Vaalilaki 714/1998 finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/1998/714 | unclear | — | ||
 France | Date not yet official | The day before (from 00:00) | Loi 77-808, art. 11 legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000522846 | unclear | From 17 Apr, 00:00 | |
 Germany | Exit polls only | BWahlG §32(2) gesetze-im-internet.de/bwahlg/__32.html | yes | — | ||
 Burundi | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Andorra | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Mexico | — | — | — | — | ||
 Mongolia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Papua New Guinea | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Guatemala | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Montenegro | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Republic of the Congo | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Greece | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Argentina | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Kenya | — | — | — | — | ||
 Angola | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Slovakia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Austria | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Italy | Date not yet official | 15 days before (from 00:00) | Legge 28/2000, art. 8 normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls | unclear | From 18 Sept, 00:00 | |
 Nicaragua | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Poland | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Slovenia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Czech Republic | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Malaysia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Cyprus | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Tunisia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Iran | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 South Korea | Date not yet official | 6 days before (from 00:00) | 공직선거법 제108조 (Public Official Election Act, art. 108) law.go.kr/DRF/lawService.do | unclear | From 6 Apr, 00:00 | |
 Turkey | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Philippines | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Paraguay | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Australia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Dominican Republic | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 North Macedonia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Croatia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Japan | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Lithuania | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Luxembourg | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Sierra Leone | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Maldives | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Georgia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Ghana | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Moldova | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Senegal | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Ecuador | Day not set yet | — | — | — | — | |
 Romania | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Pakistan | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Indonesia | Day not set yet | — | — | — | — | |
 Panama | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Albania | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Belgium | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 European Union | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 India | Day not set yet | — | — | — | — | |
 United Kingdom | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Sri Lanka | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 South Africa | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Algeria | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Norway | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Portugal | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Canada | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Mozambique | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Uruguay | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Iraq | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Chile | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Honduras | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Namibia | Date not yet official | — | — | — | — | |
 Brazil | — | No ban | Lei 9.504/1997, art. 33; STF ADI 3.741 planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9504.htm | unclear | — | |
| Peru | — | 6 days before (from 00:00) | Ley 26859 (LOE), art. 191 busquedas.elperuano.pe/dispositivo/NL/2381011-1 | yes | — |
How to read this
“Not verified” means we could not read the law in its official text: it is not a finding that polls are allowed. Each verified rule links the official text and the date we read it. A ban ends when the last polls close, the moment we show; some laws run longer, which the rule notes say. This is a reference, not legal advice.