Non-citizen Political Inclusion and Spanish External Voter Turnout

• In Event: With or without You: Minority Enfranchisement in Europe

Abstract

Over 115 countries today allow for citizens residing outside the polity to participate in
home-country elections; less common is the enfranchisement of non-citizens within
these countries. Nonetheless, the ability to vote remains central to democratic
conceptions of political belonging, and practices of citizenship. In 2019, Spain had
thirteen bilateral voting agreements which allowed non-citizens to vote in Spanish
municipal elections provided that Spanish non-citizens may also do the same in the
signatory country. In addition, Spanish citizens also enjoyed the right to vote in Spanish
national elections from abroad. In these thirteen countries, Spanish citizens enjoy
political inclusion as both citizens and non-citizens. Using data from the 2019 Spanish
Parliamentary election, this project explores how host-country enfranchisement and
local electoral inclusion have implications for external voter populations. This
preliminary analysis suggests diffusive characteristics between emigrant political
inclusion and home-country political engagement that impact external voter turnout.

Author

• Payton Capes-Davis, University of Florida