ETTW Analysis: Voting rights for expats in country of origin
VOTING RIGHTS FOR EXPATS IN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
- AUSTRIA:
Austrian citizens living abroad may vote by post in Austrian presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as referendums, with no expiry date. They must enrol on a dedicated foreign voters’ register and must renew their registration every ten years.
- BELGIUM:
As of 2017, Belgian citizens living abroad can register to vote for elections to the Chamber of Representatives and the European Parliament. Once registered in a consular post (which is optional), the person is subject to compulsory voting. Expatriates cannot vote in regional or local elections.
The very first legislation regarding eligible Belgians abroad was implemented during 1919–25 to accommodate Belgian military stationed in German territories after World War I. Their votes were cast on an earlier date and sent to their corresponding electoral district in Belgium.[8]
The first modern law, the law of 18 December 1998, gave Belgians living abroad the right to vote in federal elections (i.e. for the Chamber and Senate). However, the law was inadequate[clarification needed] and not generally applied.
The law of 7 March 2002 improved the procedure. Belgians abroad could register in a municipality of their choice, determining the constituency in which their vote would be cast. In practice, most votes were cast in the linguistically sensitive Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency.
The sixth Belgian state reform (ca. 2012), which also abolished the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency and direct Senate elections, replaced the free choice by an objectively defined municipality (where the person last lived, or else further criteria apply).
The law of 17 November 2016 slightly changed the procedure, and also extended the right to vote for European Parliament elections to Belgians living in a non-EU member state. Belgians living in another EU member state already had the right to vote on Belgian lists in European Parliament elections.
On 26 August 2016, the cabinet also approved the right to vote in regional elections; however, this change is subject to approval by special majority in parliament, causing the measure to stall.
- BULGARIA:
Bulgarian citizens living in another EU country have the right to elect local and state bodies, a President and Vice President and members of the European Parliament is afforded to Bulgarian citizens who have reached the age of 18 on polling day, have not been declared legally incapable, are not serving a prison sentence and:
have lived for at least the last six months in the locality concerned (for municipal councillors and mayors);
have lived for at least the last three months in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union (for MEPs).
The right to stand for election is afforded to Bulgarian citizens who have not been declared legally incapable, are not serving a prison sentence and:
have reached the age of 18 on polling day and have lived for at least the last six months in the locality concerned (for municipal councillors and mayors);
have reached the age of 21 and are not citizens of any other State (for MPs);
have reached the age of 21 on polling day, have lived for at least the last six months in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union and have a permanent address in the Republic of Bulgaria (for MEPs from the Republic of Bulgaria).
Bulgarian citizens by birth who have reached the age of 40, are eligible for election as an MP and have lived for the last five years in Bulgaria can be elected President.
Bulgarian citizens who have the right to vote in elections for MPs, for MEPs from the Republic of Bulgaria and for the President and Vice President of the Republic and who wish to vote must declare this no later than 25 days before polling day via a written application form, signed personally and submitted in person or sent by post to the diplomatic or consular representation of the Republic of Bulgaria in the country in question or via electronic application on the web page of the Central Electoral Commission.
Bulgarian citizens who live in another EU country when voting at a diplomatic or consular representation of the Republic of Bulgaria must provide a standard declaration that they have not voted and will not vote elsewhere in the same European election.
4. CROATIA:
Croatian citizens living abroad may vote in Croatian elections.
Unfortunately the numbers are down. One of the difficulties is that it is only allowed to register your vote in the Croatian embassy or consulate. Many bigger cities do not have consulate offices at all, in places like Australia not all states have consulates and in many cases it is very far to travel. You need to do it twice, first to register your vote than later on to vote.
The Croatian expats ( Croatian World Congress ) have been asking for electronic voting or by correspondence for a while but without success. It has been promised, but never carried out.
- CZECH REPUBLIC:
Czech citizens may vote at representations of the Czech Republic abroad in elections for the President of the Czech Republic and for the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. Voters abroad may vote in 2 ways, depending to a certain degree on the nature of their stay, whether long-term or short-term.
In the case of a short-term stay abroad, it is more appropriate to vote at the representation using a voting card, which is issued to the voter by the local authority in the place where the voter is permanently resident.
During a long-term stay abroad, a voter may ask to be entered in the special electoral roll maintained by the representation of the Czech Republic in the place of residence. After being entered in the roll, the voter will vote at the polling station usually set up at the representation. If the voter will not be present at the time of the elections within the representation’s jurisdiction, he can ask the representation to issue him with a voting card which will then authorise him to vote in any special electoral ward abroad and, of course, also in any electoral ward within the territory of the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic’s voting rules do not, for the time being, allow postal voting.
6. CYPRUS:
Cypriot citizens can vote and stand as candidates in all their home country elections from abroad if they are already registered in the electoral rolls.
To vote/stand as a candidate in home elections from abroad, Cypriot citizens need to complete these procedures:
to vote, you need to submit a declaration that you are interested in voting in a polling station abroad
to stand as a candidate, you need to present yourself to the Returning Officer to deposit your candidacy.
For more information see the Central Election Service webpage.
- DENMARK:
Danish citizens living abroad have no rights to vote in Denmark ( except for European elections ).
8. ESTONIA:
Estonian expats have the right to participate in Estonian elections.
See more here: https://www.valimised.ee/en/right-vote
9. FINLAND:
Finnish citizens living abroad may vote in Finnish elections – either by going to a Finnish embassy or consulate – or as of 2019 by postal vote.
See ministerial website in English: https://vaalit.fi/en/frontpage
10. FRANCE:
French citizens living abroad enjoy full voting rights in presidential and parliamentary elections, regardless of how long they have lived abroad.
France has a dedicated Assembly of French Citizens Abroad, the president of which is the French Foreign Minister. France also has a system of 11 constituencies for French residents overseas, each of which are represented by a deputy who sits in the National Assembly.
11. GERMANY:
Article 12(2)(1) of the Federal Voting Act[22] states that German citizens who live abroad and have no residence in Germany may vote in German parliamentary elections and European Parliament elections if:
a) they have resided in Germany for an uninterrupted period of at least three months since their 14th birthday and within the last 25 years; or
b) they have a close personal and direct relationship with German politics and are personally affected by political developments in Germany.
- GREECE:
Expatriate Greek citizens are allowed to vote in home country elections.[24] But they must return to Greece in order to do so. Their vote is also not obligatory like for most persons residing in Greece.
13. HUNGARY:
All Hungarian expats can vote – either by going to the local Hungarian embassy or by going home to Hungary to vote.
- IRELAND:
At most elections in the Republic of Ireland the electoral register is based on residential address, and the only nonresident voters are those serving abroad on government business; this includes Irish diplomats and their spouses, and Defence Forces and Garda Síochána personnel but not their spouses.[3][27][28] An exception is in elections to the Seanad (upper house) for which graduates voting in the university constituencies (National University of Ireland and University of Dublin) may be nonresident.[3][29] Expatriates intending to return to Ireland within eighteen months may retain their Irish address for electoral purposes, but must be present to vote in person.[30][31] Since the 1990s there have been proposals to allow emigrants to vote in elections to the Dáil (lower house) or Seanad, generally via a dedicated (single transferable vote multi-seat) constituency.[32] In 2017 the government agreed to allow expatriate citizens to vote in presidential elections and promised a constitutional referendum to be held alongside the 2019 local election.
15. ITALY:
Italian citizens living abroad retain the right to vote in Italian parliamentary elections and referenda. They may vote either by post or at an Italian consulate or embassy. However, for Italian citizens who live in a country which has no Italian diplomatic representation, the only way to vote is to travel to Italy to vote in person. Citizens who choose to do so are reimbursed by the Italian government for 75% of their travel costs.[34]
The Italian Parliament reserves 18 seats for those citizens residing abroad: there are twelve such seats in the Chamber of Deputies and six in the Senate of the Republic.
16. LATVIA:
All Latvian citizens abroad can vote. There are no restrictions. Everyone with a Latvian passport can show up at any polling station around the globe (usually at embassies, but these stations can be organized also by local Latvian activists in agreement with the Latvian authorities) and vote. A stamp in the passport testifies that this person has already voted once. Before the election day, voting by post is also possible, but this is not very efficient way of doing it.
17. LITHUANIA:
Lithuanian citizens living abroad have the right to vote in Lithuanian elections. They must first register to vote and can do so very easily online. During this electronic registration process they have the right to choose whether they want to vote at the Embassy (or other official polling station) or via mail. If they choose to vote by mail, the Embassy sends them ballots with a return postage-paid envelope.
This year Lithuania held Presidential elections and two referenda. An active public information campaign was conducted abroad via social media – both officially (by the Government) and unofficially (by diaspora and other interest groups) to bring out the vote. Due to active voter turnout and a record number (highest ever) of votes abroad, the Electoral Committee of Lithuania announced that a separate electoral district would be created for Lithuanians living abroad. Up until now, votes from abroad in parliamentary elections were automatically attributed to one district in the City of Vilnius along with the local votes.
The next Parliamentary elections in Lithuania will take place in October 2020.
18. LUXEMBOURG:
Luxembourg citizens living abroad may vote in parliamentary elections and referendums, but not local elections
19. Malta:
Maltese citizens may only vote if they are physically present in Malta on election day.[37] There is no rule forbidding expatriate citizens from voting, but they may only vote if they return to Malta in person to do so, at their own expense. There have been attempts and petitions to allow Maltese citizens living abroad to vote by post.
20. NETHERLANDS:
Dutch citizens who live abroad (and have deregistered as Dutch residents) are allowed to vote in elections for the House of Representatives and for the European Parliament, but cannot vote in municipal or provincial elections. They must register as voters in order to vote from abroad.
21. POLAND:
As a Polish citizen living abroad, you may vote in the following national elections:
parliamentary elections to the Sejm and the Senate
EU elections
presidential elections
Citizens living abroad who wish to vote in a national election must:
contact the responsible consulate/embassy in their country of residence by fax or post no later than three days before the date of the election, in order to be entered on the electoral roll.
If you change your place of residence before the election, you may vote on the basis of a certificate on the right to vote in the place of stay during the election (Article 32 of the Electoral Code).
22. PORTUGAL:
Article 49 of the Portuguese Constitution grants all Portuguese citizens the right to vote, regardless of where they live.[42]
Portugal has a Council of Portuguese Communities (Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas), a consultative body which is part of the Portuguese government and represents the interests of Portuguese citizens living abroad.[43]
4 seats of the Portuguese Parliament (out of 230) are reserved for those living abroad: 2 mandates allocated fr Europe, the other 2 from outside Europe.
23. ROMANIA:
As a Romanian citizen, if you live abroad, you can vote in the polling station in you country of residence:
in the election of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies
in the election of the President.
The only condition is to have a valid Romanian passport.
There are several ways to vote in parliamentary elections:
by post, provided you file a written request to be enlisted in the Electoral Register with the option for postal voting in advance
at a polling station set up at the diplomatic missions and consular offices, consular sections
at a polling station set up in other locations than at the premises of the diplomatic missions or consular offices, with the agreement of the authorities in the respective country
at a polling station set up for the localities or groups of localities where, according to the Electoral Register, at least 100 voters are domiciled or residing, but the number of voters to be assigned to a station cannot exceed 2, 000.
If, in the locality where the diplomatic mission, consular office, consular section or cultural institute are located, less than 300 voters appear to be recorded in the Electoral Register with their domicile or residential address, they shall be assigned to the polling stations set up at the diplomatic missions and consular offices, consular sections, if they operate in different locations and with the cultural institutes abroad.
As a Romanian citizen domiciled or residing abroad, you can stand as a candidate for parliamentary elections in the out of country electoral constituency as independent candidates or on the list of a political party, organisation of citizens belonging to national minorities, electoral alliance, or political coalition.
More information is available on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority.
24. SLOVAKIA:
Slovaks can vote from abroad by post (even via e-post) upon their request to be submitted prior to 10 January 2020. The form has been at the disposal at the Ministry of Interior web-site.
25. SLOVENIA:
Voters who are abroad also have the right to vote. These voters can be divided into two categories:
- voters who have registered permanent residence in Slovenia, and who are therefore in the general electoral register for a polling station area within Slovenia, and who on polling day are temporarily abroad (voters temporarily abroad – EXPATRIATES);
- voters who have emigrated from Slovenia and are entered in a special electoral register of Slovenian citizens who do not have registered permanent residence in Slovenia (EMIGRATED SLOVENIANS)
I. Voters temporarily abroad – expatriates
Voters who will be abroad temporarily on polling day may vote in two ways:
- at a diplomatic or consular representative office (DCR);
- by post from abroad.
For both types of voting, voters who will be abroad temporarily on polling day must communicate their intention to the state election commission. Voters can send notice of their intention on the form published on the website of the state election commission in the following three ways:
- by post to: Državna volilna komisija, Slovenska cesta 54, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- by fax to the following number: +386 1 43 31 269;
- by e-mail (signed and scanned) to the e-mail address gp.dvk@dvk-rs.si
The deadline for giving notice is preclusive, meaning the deadline refers to when the notice must arrive. Notices received late will be rejected as submitted too late.
In the electoral register for the area where voters are registered as permanent residents, a note will be entered against the name and surname of the voter in the column “remarks” regarding the method of voting. The election committee cannot allow such voters to cast votes even if they appear in person at the polling station.
Options for voting:
- Voting at DCR
Voters who vote at a diplomatic or consular representative office of the Republic of Slovenia will be entered on a special list. On polling day they should appear between 9 am and 5 pm local time at the polling station in the DCR, where the voting procedure is exactly the same as at a polling station in Slovenia (identification of voters with personal ID, voter signature, voting using ballot papers). These voters do not receive any special notice of entry on the list of voters if they have submitted an application to vote at a DCR in due time.
- Postal votes
Voters who vote by post from abroad can return the voting materials they receive at their address abroad:
- to the address of the competent local electoral commission (the address will already be printed on the return envelope enclosed with the voting materials) or
- to the address of the Slovenian DCR where the polling station is located (the materials must arrive by the time the polling station opens).
II. Voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia – emigrated Slovenians
Emigrated Slovenians have the right to vote in:
- referendums,
- elections to the National Assembly,
- presidential elections
- elections to the European Parliament.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia of the calling of elections or referendums and of the possible methods of voting.
Emigrated Slovenians may freely choose to vote at a polling station in a diplomatic or consular representative office, by post or at a special polling station at the headquarters of a local electoral commission (“OMNIA” polling station).
Options for voting:
- At a DCR of the Republic of Slovenia, if the DCR has set up a polling station and voters are on the electoral register.
Voters using a DCR should appear on polling day between 9 am and 5 pm local time at the polling station in the DCR, where the voting procedure is exactly the same as at a polling station in Slovenia (identification of voters with personal ID, voter signature, voting using ballot papers).
- By post
- Elections to the National Assembly, presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament:
In accordance with Article 82 of the National Assembly Elections Act, the state election commission will send a ballot paper with the names of candidates or candidate lists to the permanent residential address of the voter abroad.
Instructions on the method of voting by post are an integral part of the voting materials. Voters must send the completed ballot paper and personally signed voting card to the address of the local electoral commission (the address will be enclosed), or they may also send the materials to a diplomatic or consular representative office of the Republic of Slovenia.
- Referendums:
Voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia (emigrated Slovenians) wishing to vote by post must notify the state election commission professional of their intention. Voters can send notice of their intention on the notification form published on the website of the state election commission.
Emigrated Slovenians can send their notification:
- by post to: Državna volilna komisija, Slovenska cesta 54, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- by fax to the following number: +386 1 43 31 269;
- by e-mail (signed and scanned) to the e-mail address gp.dvk@dvk-rs.si.
The deadline for giving notice is preclusive, meaning the deadline refers to when the notice must arrive. Notices received late will be rejected as submitted too late.
Emigrated Slovenians who vote by post from abroad can return the voting materials they receive at their address abroad:
- to the address of the competent local electoral commission (the address will already be printed on the return envelope enclosed with the voting materials) or
- (in exceptions) to the address of the Slovenian DCR where the polling station is located (the voting materials must arrive at the DCR by the time the polling station opens).
- At a special polling station at the headquarters of the local electoral commission (administrative unit) – “OMNIA”
Emigrated Slovenians who will be in Slovenia on polling day may opt to vote at a special polling station at the headquarters of the local electoral commission (administrative unit), i.e. an “OMNIA” polling station.
Emigrated Slovenians wishing to vote at such polling stations must notify the local or state election commission of their intention. Emigrated Slovenians should give notification in the manner set out in point I. Emigrated Slovenians must send such notice no later than three days before polling day.
The DCR at which the emigrated Slovenian is listed in the electoral register will be immediately notified that the person is voting in Slovenia, and a note will be made in the electoral register that the person has opted for this form of voting.
Emigrated voters who opt to vote at “OMNIA” polling stations should appear on polling day at the “OMNIA” polling station in the location they have chosen. For every election or referendum the precise addresses of “OMNIA” polling stations are published on the state election commission website.
26. SPAIN:
Article 68, Section 5 of the Spanish Constitution guarantees Spanish citizens living abroad the right to vote. They may do so either at a Spanish consulate or embassy, or by post.[47]
Spain has a General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad (Consejo General de la Ciudadanía Española en el Exterior, CGCDE), an advisory body which represents the interests of Spanish citizens living abroad
27. SWEDEN:
Swedish nationals living abroad are automatically entitled to vote in Riksdag elections and European Parliamentary elections (for those living in another EU Member State) up to ten years after leaving Sweden. There is no time limit to eligibility, but after the initial 10-year period has elapsed, Swedish expatriates must renew their electoral roll registration by filling out a form every 10 years.[49] They cannot vote in either county or municipal elections. Voting take place either by post or at Swedish embassies.
- UNITED KINGDOM:
British citizens living abroad may vote in UK general elections, referendums and European Parliament elections for up to 15 years after leaving the UK. However, they may only do so if they were registered to vote in the UK while living there. British expatriates who were under 18 at the time of leaving the UK may vote as long as their parent or guardian was registered to vote in the UK.
British expatriates are not allowed to vote in local elections or in elections for the devolved Scottish Parliament or Welsh or Northern Irish Assemblies.[53]
In February 2018, the Overseas Electors Bill was presented to Parliament, with a view to abolishing the 15-year limit and the requirement to have registered to vote before leaving the UK. This would grant all British expatriates the unlimited right to vote, as long as they have lived in the UK at some point in their lives.[54][55] The issue became a hotly debated topic among British expatriates who have lived in other EU Member States for more than 15 years and were thus barred from voting in the referendum on European Union membership, despite arguably being more affected by the result than British people living in the UK.
NJT – 14 11 2019
2nd ed.