Spain's Central Electoral Board (JEC) has ordered the Census Office to establish precise, uniform criteria for determining the electoral municipality of individuals who gain Spanish nationality through the so-called 'Grandchildren Law.' This decision follows a surge in requests from political parties and other entities concerned about the transparency of the process for voters residing abroad. While the board rejected calls to suspend the electoral census for these new citizens, it emphasized that the assignment of a specific province or municipality for voting purposes must be sufficiently justified and documented in each case.
The 'Grandchildren Law,' a provision within the 2022 Democratic Memory Law, allows descendants of Spanish exiles to obtain citizenship. As these new citizens are added to the CERA (Census of Absentee Residents), questions have arisen regarding how they are assigned to specific electoral districts. The JEC noted that current criteria for choosing a municipality—such as ancestral ties or past residence—can be abstract. Consequently, the board is requiring the administration to create a clear, standardized instruction to ensure that the process is objective and consistent across all consular offices.
The board clarified that it does not have the authority to rule on the legality of the citizenship process itself, noting that such challenges belong in the courts. Instead, its focus remains on the integrity of the electoral roll. By requiring that the choice of municipality be 'sufficiently motivated' when it does not stem directly from a recent address in Spain, the JEC aims to prevent arbitrary assignments and ensure that the electoral process remains transparent for all participants. The administration must now develop these new guidelines to standardize how consular offices handle these registrations moving forward.