Spain's 'Grandchildren Law' adds 400k voters, Supreme Court to decide

The so-called "Grandchildren Law" has added approximately **400,000** new voters to the electoral roll in Spain. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes urgently, these citizens will be able to vote in the upcoming general elections. They will use the CERA mechanism (voting by mail for Spaniards registered abroad), which is counted separately from domestic votes.

## What is the Grandchildren Law and who does it add?

This regulation allows grandchildren of emigrated Spaniards to acquire Spanish nationality. This new citizenship comes with a side effect: registration on the electoral roll. The Central Electoral Commission has stated that it is not possible to discriminate within the roll based on how each new voter acquired their nationality. In other words, descendants cannot be separated from other expatriate voters without a case-by-case audit.

## The problem with the roll and CERA voting

The electoral roll used to call elections is closed two months before the vote. This means it predates any potential interim measures from the Supreme Court. CERA votes are counted separately from domestic ones and, according to circulating estimates, would largely go to the **PSOE**. That alone could alter the last seat allocation in many provinces. And in a tight count, the last seat changes the final distribution.

## The upcoming legal battle

Right-wing parties will challenge CERA voting at the Supreme Court. The court must decide whether to annul these votes, and do so in record time. A practical issue is that a voter in **Kuala Lumpur** cannot attach a certificate proving their grandfather was persecuted; this information cannot legally be included in the file. Without this data, individual audits are impossible before the count. Thus, judicial decisions arrive against the clock.

## What is at stake with the last seat

Expat votes do not allocate seats on their own, but they tip the balance in provinces where the last mandate is decided by a few hundred ballots. If the Supreme Court annuls CERA votes, the distribution reverts to domestic results. If not, the final outcome may differ from what the polling stations suggest on election day. In either scenario, legal conflict is guaranteed.

This article describes an ongoing electoral process and does not anticipate judicial rulings. For decisions regarding voting or the electoral roll, consult official regulations and legal professionals.