I am grateful for the kind invitation to share with the committee the Spanish experience regarding the voting rights of Spanish citizens living abroad. The right to vote is one of the fundamental political rights in any democratic system and to understand the Spanish regulation which enables our citizens living abroad to vote, a short description of the historical background is needed.
Migration, in a similar way to Ireland, has been an important and defining phenomenon through Spanish history and particularly from the mid-19th century to the 1970s. Spaniards, for different reasons, have migrated to all parts of the world, mainly to Latin America and within Europe. There is a general perception in Spanish society that the country owes a debt of gratitude for the sacrifice of those who had to leave their country for economic or political reasons. Giving Spaniards who live abroad the right to vote in their country of residence has to be seen in that context. In the case of those migrating to Latin American countries, this approach goes hand in hand with the Spanish regulation of citizenship which has allowed to the descendants of the original migrant to keep alive their Spanish citizenship while enjoying the citizenship of their country of birth. This is, thus, a very important question in Spain, and one that carries significant consequences of an electoral and political nature.
In this context, it is also relevant to emphasize that any regulation of the electoral law requires an enhanced majority in parliament, which implies the need to seek consensus among political parties. The last modification of the electoral law took place in 2011 and counted with the support of the two main Spanish political parties. The number of registered Spanish citizens residing abroad is 1,609,989. Of those, 440,471 reside in EU countries. In Ireland, there are 4,183 Spanish citizens with the right to vote. The Spanish legal framework for the vote of citizens living abroad can be summarised as follows: Spanish citizens living abroad permanently have the right to vote in referenda, parliamentary elections, autonomic legislative assemblies and European Parliament elections. Since January 2011, Spaniards living permanently abroad can no longer vote in local elections in Spain; unlike other countries allowing the vote of citizens abroad, there is not a special electoral constituency for the Spanish residing abroad.
For electoral purposes, Spaniards with a right to vote while residing abroad are registered in a special census. Their constituencies are the Spanish provinces, determined by their place of birth or special links; the Population Abroad Census receives data from the Spanish consulates' registers and is managed by the National Statistics Institute. Registration at the consulate's register is compulsory for Spanish citizens residing abroad for more than one year. Spanish citizens in the Population Abroad Census who will be 18 on election day enter automatically the Spaniards residing abroad electoral roll. This roll is updated monthly; the voting procedure is operated upon the elector's request. Since 2011 Spaniards living permanently abroad have to send an official application form to their Electoral Census Office provincial delegation no later than the 25th day after the calling of the elections. The official application form is sent ex officio by mail to Spanish electors living permanently abroad. It is also available on the day after the calling of the election both online and at the consular offices.
Once the application is received in Spain, the Electoral Census sends the voting envelope to the elector by registered mail. After receiving their voting envelope, Spaniards living permanently abroad have the option to deposit their electoral documentation, which includes the voting envelope with the ballot paper of their choice, in a ballot box at the Spanish consulate or embassy of the country where they live between the fourth and second day before elections day. They just deposit the vote. Technically, they do not cast the vote as consulates and embassies are not considered polling stations. The elector will identify himself to the consular staff before depositing the envelope in the ballot box. Security measures will be taken and the ballot box will be sealed at the end of the day. Representatives of the lists of candidates may be present at the consular facilities where the deposit of the vote is going on. Alternatively, they can send by mail their electoral documentation to the Spanish consulate or embassy in the country where they live no later than the fifth day before elections day. Gratuity of the postal voting is guaranteed as voters have the right to reimbursement. The consulates or embassies send the envelopes with the electoral documentation to a special office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Madrid. That office is in charge of sending the envelopes with the votes of Spaniards who live abroad to the different electoral commissions.
The turnout of Spaniards living abroad has traditionally been very low compared to the general turnout. Before the electoral law amendment of 2011 the turnout was approximately 25%. In the last general election of November 2011, the turnout reached an all-time low of 4.95%. There are different reasons and explanations for these low turnouts such as lack of interest in the political life of the country, difficulties to follow the electoral campaign and be motivated by it, etc. but the fact is that there is an ongoing debate on the voting procedure and that Spanish migrant associations are urging the administration for a review of the system. The will of the political parties behind the last electoral amendment was to reinforce the guaranties in the voting procedures but the low turnout after the changes is certainly an issue of reflection in parliament. The possibility of introducing an electronic vote has also been on the table but, for the time being, is not seriously considered because of very important technical difficulties. In a nutshell, the Spanish electoral system is defined by its generosity when considering the voting rights of Spaniards living abroad. A very difficult challenge is to balance the guarantees behind the voting procedure while, at the same time, stimulating participation.
