turning 17 in that year. As such, citizens are able to vote in elections before their actual birthday, provided that they turn 17 in the year. In the past, citizens who reached adulthood had to register and were issued an "election booklet" with which they voted. Nowadays, registration for voters is not needed: it is done automatically each year by municipal authorities; catalogues of to-be voters (coming of age the next year) are composed during November of the previous year. They do not become part of electoral catalogues, till 1 January. Identity is proved by state-issued ID cards or passport. Special registration is necessary only for absentee voting, which is done at the place of a voter's temporary residence on election day. Many Greeks choose to retain their voting rights in their family's original home, sometimes by reason of tradition, sometimes by reason of patronage. Since the abolition of Electoral Booklets in 2001, each and every voter is provided with a 13-digit Special Electoral Number. This number is used solely for proving the uniqueness of the voter and excluding any possibility of double voting. Any other use of the number is deemed illegal and carries a penalty of at least a year in prison and fine from €2934.70 up to €29,347.03, unless other acts have taken place. This number consists of: a four-digit code corresponding to a Municipality or Community(0101-Agia Varvara to 5410-Psara) the last three digits of the voter's birth year (999 for 1999, et cetera) a five-digit code that reflects the ranking of each new voter, in relation to his year of birth, which is unique per Municipality or Community and is allocated to the basis of first available number a number (or letter) in relation to the aforementioned codes used for the verification of the correct registration of all the 12-digit sequence. The Special Electoral Number remains the same, even if the voter chooses to transfer his voting rights to another constituency. The Constitution provides, following the amendment of 2001, for the right of Greek citizens living abroad to vote for the legislative elections and the law implementing this constitutional provision was passed in 2019. Compulsory voting is the law in Greece but is not enforced. In the past a citizen had to present an up-to-date election booklet to be issued a driver licence or a passport, or else justify why they did not vote (e.g. because