Spain's Supreme Court gives parties three days on voting rights of 'grandchildren law' descendants

The court's decision

Spain's Supreme Court declined on Friday, 30 October, to rule urgently on a request from the party Iustitia Europa to extend the voting suspension to the children of people nationalized under the 'ley de nietos'. The Contentious-Administrative Chamber refused to act without first hearing the other parties. Instead it opened a precautionary procedure and gave the parties three days from notification to file submissions. Because of the approaching election, the court made working days of all of November and from 31 October onward for this measure. The general election is set for 29 November, and the court will decide on the new request only after hearing the parties.

Lists handed to the court

The Foreign and Justice ministries delivered a nominal list of 163,355 people on Wednesday, 28 October, just before the court's deadline expired at 3pm. The people on that list had their votes suspended in September, a measure that affects only the electoral roll for Spaniards living abroad. The state's legal service admitted that the Foreign Ministry had held only statistics on nationality applications, compiled since November 2022, and no names. Consulates had sent counts rather than identities, so staff had to review each file individually. The legal service blamed the delays on difficulties at some consulates, including constant power and communication cuts in Havana and a temporary move of the Caracas office after an earthquake. Consulates have also issued 901 certificates proving descent from political exiles, and that group keeps its right to vote.

The second group

Iustitia Europa, led by Luis María Pardo, argues that the descendants of nationalized people should also lose their vote until they prove their ancestors were exiles. Vox has made a similar request. The state's legal service puts the number of people nationalized through this second route at more than 189,000. Iustitia cited 189,678 registrations as of 31 July, a figure it said rose to 195,872 a month later, alongside 134,405 approved applications still awaiting registration. The Supreme Court refused to rule on extending the measure to those now living in Spain, saying that question falls outside the scope of the appeal, so the party has turned to the Central Electoral Board.

31 July 2026189,678

Late August 2026195,872

Approved, pending registration134,405

31 July 2026

189678 people

Late August 2026

195872 people

Approved, pending registration

134405 people

Data from the article text

What comes next

The court has given the state's legal service and the other parties three days to file their submissions on the new suspension request. Children living in Spain keep their vote because the suspension applies only to the overseas electoral roll. Children of suspended voters who obtained nationality through the other route can also vote. Any decision on the children's vote will therefore come before the 29 November election, which the court cited as the reason for enabling working days in November.