British citizens living in Spain can vote in UK elections, but problems with registration and postal voting can make exercising that right difficult. With the Conservatives calling for an independent review, the debate over overseas voting is back in the spotlight.
When you consider that more than one million UK passport holders are resident abroad, it is easy to understand why overseas voting can be an important political issue.
Imagine how significant those votes could have been at the time of the Brexit Referendum.
The problem, historically, has been that successive British Governments introduced time limits meaning that British citizens who had lived abroad for more than a certain number of years were not eligible to vote in UK General Elections or the Brexit Referendum.
The period varied over the years, from seven to 15 years, and created a particular problem for British citizens who had built their lives overseas but retained their connection to the UK.
But having the right to vote and being able to successfully cast that vote are not necessarily the same thing.
Xpat.es covered this in a recent article HERE
“The right to vote means little if your vote cannot reach the ballot box in time.”
Since there will be a UK election in the next 3 years (we don’t know when either!) if you are eligible to vote then its probably time to get registered and organise your access. The UK Electoral Commission has guidance HERE.
Happy Voting!
