Spain’s State Attorney’s Office is opposing a request by Vox and Iustitia Europa to prevent 189,578 people from voting in the November 29 general election. The group consists of adult children of people who obtained Spanish nationality under the 2022 “grandchildren’s law” or the 2007 Historical Memory Law.
In submissions cited by elDiario.es, state lawyers argue that the parties’ request would cast doubt on the legitimacy of these voters. They also stress that many people covered by the request acquired nationality under the 2007 law, through cases unrelated to the dispute over the 2022 Justice Ministry instruction and its presumption of exile.
Vox and Iustitia Europa want everyone listed in Annex III of the 2022 instruction removed from the electoral roll. They argue that the nationality status of these voters should be examined with the same rigor as that of their parents, whose voting rights have been suspended in a separate proceeding.
The State Attorney’s Office says repeating the screening already carried out for 163,020 voters would be “materially impossible” with the resources available. That earlier operation took a month and a half across Spain’s 172 consular offices abroad, required additional staff and led to cancelled leave, work on public holidays and temporary closures. Lawyers say a second screening, three weeks before the election and after voting materials have been mailed, could not be carried out without disrupting essential public services.
The office also notes that the first ballots have already been sent to Spanish citizens living abroad. Voters listed in Annex I were told they may vote only if they obtain a consular certificate confirming that their ancestors suffered political persecution.
On the likely electoral impact, state lawyers say the number of people who could actually cast ballots is far smaller than the headline figures suggest. Of the 163,020 people previously affected, “just over 100,000” are on the electoral roll, because of factors including age, death or failure to register. Based on historical overseas turnout of 8.36%, the office estimates that the existing suspension would affect about 10,000 votes. Even if the restriction were extended to the children of people who gained nationality under the two memory laws, it says the combined effect would not exceed 20,000 votes in an electorate of more than 27 million.
The State Attorney’s Office concludes that the request relies on the raw number of people registered, rather than evidence of how many would actually vote, and says that is insufficient to justify a further precautionary restriction on the constitutional right to vote.
Sources: elDiario.es.