Spain's Supreme Court rejects extending voting suspension to children of 'grandchildren law' nationals

The court's decision

Spain's Supreme Court has refused to extend a suspension of voting rights to the children of people naturalized under the so-called 'grandchildren law' (ley de nietos), ahead of the general election on 29 November. The fourth section of the court's administrative chamber denied the interim measures requested by Vox and Iustitia Europa, according to resolutions reported by Europa Press and El Periódico. The decision was reported on 9 November. The children in question were not covered by the earlier suspension, which applied to a different group. Two separate opinions accompanied the ruling: a dissent from one of the six judges who took the decision, and a concurring opinion from a female judge.

The earlier suspension

In September the court provisionally suspended the voting rights of more than 163,000 new Spaniards who had acquired nationality as descendants of exiles under the Democratic Memory Law, specifically subsection 1.1 of its eighth additional provision. El Periódico reports that the measure, ratified on 12 October, applied only to people who obtained nationality under that law without documents proving their parents' exile. Foreign Ministry data submitted by the State Attorney's office put the number of people naturalized under that provision at more than 189,000. Vox and Iustitia Europa asked the court to extend the suspension to their children, who obtained nationality under another section of the same law that the suspension does not cover.

The government's opposition

The State Attorney's office, which represents the government, opposed both requests and asked the court to order the groups to pay costs. Its filings argued that a suspension would notably affect the active voting right of those concerned and the public interest in guaranteeing that right. It also warned that the measure could create uncertainty in the electoral process and could affect the final count, since some votes might already be cast but still pending tally.

The court's reasoning

The judges said the request came at a late stage of the process. They stated:

“at a very different moment, with more than half of the electoral period elapsed and one week before the campaign begins”

Citing the legal adviser to the Cortes Generales and the Central Electoral Board, the court added that starting a review of the census of Spaniards residing abroad (CERA) at this stage, with little time before the vote and count, would conflict with the principles of legal certainty and electoral stability.

What comes next

Children of nationalized Spaniards living abroad will be able to vote in the 29 November election, El País reports. In-person ballot deposits at consulates were due to begin about two weeks after the decision, and the campaign about one week after it. The outcome leaves the September suspension in place for the group it originally covered, with no change for the children of the grandchildren-law nationals.