PSOE Argentina urged voting with expired passports amid equality concerns

Lorena Suárez, then Secretary General of the PSOE in Argentina, encouraged voters in a video to cast ballots in the July 23, 2023 general elections using expired passports and to update census data with Argentine ID cards. By late July 2025, Argentina accounted for 366,579 applications under Spain's 'Grandchildren Law', nearly 40% of the global total.

The 'Grandchildren Law' has made Argentina the epicenter of Spanish naturalization. As of late July 2025, the South American country had accumulated **366,579 applications**, approximately **40%** of all registrations worldwide, according to official government data. Of these, **174,277 files** had already received favorable resolutions. The Buenos Aires consulate led the volume of requests.

## Video urging vote with expired passport

Just days before the **July 23, 2023** general elections, Lorena Suárez, who served as PSOE Secretary General in Argentina from July 2022 to August 2024, posted a social media video with instructions for participating in the polls. She asked voters to check their census details by June 12, either online via the INE (National Statistics Institute) or in person at the Buenos Aires consulate.

Suárez stated that identity could be verified with a Spanish passport, consular card, or Spanish DNI, adding: "It doesn't matter if the passport is expired; you can still verify your identity and participate in the elections with an expired passport." She also encouraged bringing the Argentine DNI to prove a change of address.

Then-Foreign Minister **José Manuel Albares** allowed voting in Buenos Aires with expired passports and documents without photos, aligning with the Socialist leader's request.

## Free advice and trips to mobilize votes

The PSOE's activity in Argentina went beyond the video. The party offered free advice to those naturalized under the 'Grandchildren Law' and organized trips by institutional officials to mobilize residents abroad. Regional leaders **José Ramón Gómez Besteiro** (Galicia), **Adrián Barbón** (Asturias), and **María Chivite** traveled to the country in the preceding months.

Education Minister **Milagros Tolón** visited the Galician and Spanish community in Buenos Aires shortly after Pedro Sánchez called elections for November 29. Suárez herself admitted that targeting naturalized citizens aimed to inflate the PSOE's vote count.

## External vote as decisive factor

Violeta Alonso, identified as a key figure in Pedro Sánchez's strategy regarding the 'Grandchildren Law' abroad, stated that mobilizing Spaniards living overseas and new naturalized citizens would have a "significant impact" on elections. The external vote, traditionally less decisive due to its small volume, gains weight when combined with a large contingent of newly naturalized citizens concentrated in one country.

The combination of advisory services, document leniency, and official visits turns the external vote into an area where the line between facilitating suffrage and directing it becomes blurred. It is worth remembering that electoral rules regarding documentation and the census are set by the administration, not parties, and any irregularities must be proven before the Electoral Board, not assumed.