Spain's Supreme Court suspends electoral roll for grandchildren law

Grandchildren law will not reach the electoral roll as Supreme Court suspends it

The Supreme Court has halted all additions to the electoral roll of citizens who obtained Spanish nationality through the grandchildren law. The Administrative Chamber granted the interim measure requested by Vox and Iustitia Europa, suspending the registration of these new nationals for future elections. The decision, adopted on 8 September 2026, responds to a 16 July agreement by the Central Electoral Commission that was challenged by both entities.

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What the Supreme Court decided

The court's order distinguishes two cases: those not yet on the absentee resident roll may complete the process, but their registration is suspended upon completion; and those already registered have the electoral effects of that registration suspended for any elections called. In other words, all affected individuals are covered. However, it should be noted: the Democratic Memory Law has not been suspended and remains in force, nor is any granted nationality revoked. What is challenged is an agreement by the Central Electoral Commission, not the law itself.

The origin of the measure: Vox and Iustitia Europa

The challenge was filed by Vox and the association Iustitia Europa, an entity some analysts consider a "submarine" against Santiago Abascal's party. Both submitted separate requests for interim measures, but the Supreme Court adopted the same measure in both orders. The key to the appeal is that the grandchildren law, promoted in 2022 by the Ministry of Democratic Memory under Ángel Víctor Torres, would allow people who have never lived in Spain to register on the electoral roll and vote in Spanish elections.

The debate on voting from abroad

One circulating figure: 90% or more of the newly naturalized have never been to Spain. Moreover, turnout in overseas voting has historically hovered around 10%, so it is unlikely that the 2,500,000 new Spaniards announced by President Sánchez will vote en masse. Some argue that the real aim of the inflated roll is to benefit the PSOE in small constituencies, where winning a seat costs fewer votes. In 1977, UCD won 169 seats with just over 6 million votes; in 2023, the PP won 137 seats with 8 million. The difference is explained in part by the overrepresentation of sparsely populated provinces, which would have been most affected by an increase in the overseas roll.

Criticism of the PP and the future of the appeal

The Supreme Court's decision has been welcomed by those who see it as a brake on an alleged "rigged election". However, some voices recall that the PP also supported the grandchildren law at the time, and that Feijóo always defended gifted nationalizations. Furthermore, the Government will not give up: the Constitutional Court could intervene and, thanks to its current composition, has a pogre majority.

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The conflict is not over. The Supreme Court has taken a step forward, but the legal battle promises to be long. If the Constitutional Court ends up addressing the merits, the suspension could be reversed. For now, the electoral roll remains in a limbo that unsettles the Executive and reassures part of the opposition.