Una reforma electoral posible: el voto de la diáspora vasca

Authors

  • Fabio Pascua Mateo

Keywords:

Elections, electoral roll, Basque Country, Navarre, Basque diaspora, right to vote, Electoral Roll Office, Congress of Deputies, Senate, autonomous legislative assemblies, principle of equality

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study the possibility for citizens who, coming from the Basque Country and Navarra, have been forced to change their domicile to another place in Spain due to ETA terrorist pressure and related organizations, to vote in their constituencies of origin without having to return to them physically. The answer is positive according to the general lines of case law both of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court, while none of them has solved similar cases. In addition, we analyze what kind of processes the recognition of that right can be extended to. In this regard we propose the inclusion of all elections, solution constitutionally possible and more comfortable and operational for the voter. Finally, we present a proposal for a statutory regulation, intended to be as simple as possible, defining who can benefit from this option, through a temporary procedure that does not alter the system of regular updating of the census and avoid risks of double votes.