Right of expatriates to vote in their country of origin

The right of expatriates to vote in elections in their country of origin varies depending on the legislation of an expatriate’s country of origin. Some countries (such as France) grant their expatriate citizens unlimited voting rights, identical to those of citizens living in their home country. Other countries allow expatriate citizens to vote only for a certain number of years after leaving the country, after which they are no longer eligible to vote (e.g. 15 years for the UK and 25 years for Germany). Other countries reserve the right vote solely to citizens living in that country, thereby stripping expatriate citizens of their voting rights once they leave their home country (such as Ireland, with extremely limited exceptions).

As of 2006, 93 countries allowed their expatriate citizens to vote: 21 African countries, 13 countries in the Americas, 15 Asian countries, 6 Pacific countries and 36 European countries.[1]

Country-by-country breakdown

Canada

Canadian citizens living abroad can vote by post if they have lived outside Canada for less than five consecutive years. Only Canadians working for the Canadian government, a Canadian company or an international organisation in which Canada is involved are exempt from this time limit.

Canadian citizens living abroad who are not eligible to vote by post may still vote regardless of how long they have lived abroad, but only if they return to Canada to vote in person.[2]

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.

Germany

Article 12(2)(1) of the Federal Voting Act[3] 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.[4]

Ireland

Ireland forbids almost all of its expatriate citizens from voting. Only members of the armed forces and diplomatic staff abroad may vote in Dáil (lower house) elections, while only expatriates who are graduates of the National University of Ireland or Trinity College, Dublin may vote in Seanad (upper house) elections.[1]

Italy

Italian citizens living abroad retain the right to vote in Italian parliamentary elections. 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.[5]

New Zealand

New Zealand citizens living abroad have full voting rights with no expiry date as long as they have lived in New Zealand for at least one year continuously at some point in their lives and have visited New Zealand within the last three years.[6]

Portugal

Article 49 of the Portuguese Constitution grants all Portuguese citizens the right to vote, regardless of where they live.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

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 expats 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 expats are not allowed to vote in local elections or in elections for the devolved Scottish Parliament or Welsh or Northern Irish Assemblies.[11]

United States of America

US citizens living abroad enjoy full voting rights, regardless of how long they have lived abroad. In addition, 36 states, plus the District of Columbia, allow US citizens who have never resided in the US to vote in the respective state based on where their parent or legal guardian was last registered.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "External voting: a GlobalIrish.ie factsheet | globalirish.ie – about Irish emigration and the diaspora". www.globalirish.ie. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  2. ↑ "Voting from abroad". Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  3. ↑ "BWahlG - Einzelnorm". www.gesetze-im-internet.de. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  4. ↑ "Auswärtiges Amt Berlin - Allgemeine Informationen zur Wahlteilnahme aus dem Ausland". www.konsularinfo.diplo.de. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  5. ↑ "Consolato Generale d'Italia in Londra". www.conslondra.esteri.it. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  6. ↑ "Enrol and Vote from Overseas". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  7. ↑ "Constitution of the Republic of Portugal (official English translation)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas | Comissão Nacional de Eleições". www.cne.pt. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  9. ↑ "Spanish Constitution (unofficial English translation)" (PDF). University of Essex. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Portal de la Ciudadanía Española en el Exterior: Secretaría General de Inmigración y Emigración.: Ciudadanía Española en el Exterior". www.ciudadaniaexterior.empleo.gob.es. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  11. ↑ Commission, The Electoral. "Overseas voters". www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  12. ↑ "Never Resided in the U.S.". www.fvap.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
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