A Supreme Court order dated 10 September 2026 halted the registration in the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA) of people who recently became Spanish citizens under the 2022 Law of Democratic Memory, preventing them from voting from abroad. No elections are currently scheduled.
The decision affects more than 400,000 people recognized as Spanish citizens since the law took effect. Their names were about to be added to the overseas electoral roll, but the court’s move has left them in legal uncertainty. They have no clear way to appeal as a group, and Spanish law has no precedent for blocking the rights of such a large group at once. Estimates of the number potentially affected range from 333,696 to as many as 2.7 million, depending on whether the count includes only people already registered in CERA or everyone eligible under the law, Spanish media report.
The legal dispute began when a party challenged the Central Electoral Board’s refusal to clarify the rules for granting nationality. The Supreme Court did not address that refusal directly. Instead, it suspended the effects of a 2022 instruction from the Directorate General of Legal Security and Public Faith, though that act had not been formally challenged in court. Dissenting magistrate Millán Herrandis questioned the logic and legality of this approach.
The court justified its decision by citing a possible threat to electoral transparency from the sudden increase in CERA registrations. The majority argued that this could put future elections at risk, although no specific problems have been reported and no elections are currently scheduled. For those affected, the result is immediate: they lose the right to vote despite their fully recognized and uncontested citizenship.
Spanish law does not allow nationality or its associated rights to be stripped from a group all at once. Each case would normally require an individual legal process, including the right to a defense and judicial review. The court’s order bypasses those protections, imposing a blanket restriction without the usual safeguards. It also makes no mention of Articles 42 and 68.5 of the Constitution, which protect the rights of Spaniards abroad and their descendants.
EFE and BBC Mundo report that the suspension does not affect all new citizens equally. Those who can provide consular documentation proving that their ancestor was exiled for political, ideological or religious reasons retain the right to register and vote abroad, provided they meet the law’s requirements. The exception has sharpened debate over evidentiary standards and the decision’s practical impact on different groups within the diaspora.
The controversy traces back to the 2022 instruction, which made it easier for descendants of exiles to prove their case by presuming exile for anyone who left Spain between 1936 and 1955. It was intended to help those unable to produce documents lost during war and displacement. Critics say the presumption is too broad, but the alternative would deny rights to people affected by past injustice. The earlier 2008 instruction required stricter proof and individual review. The 2022 version prioritized access, leaving it more vulnerable to legal challenges.
Politics are basic to the dispute. The legal challenge came from a party focused on questioning the legitimacy of these new nationalizations, not on protecting the census. As the dissenting magistrate pointed out, the public interest lies in clean elections and ensuring recognized citizens can exercise their rights unless a court rules otherwise. France, Italy and Portugal have created special electoral districts for their diasporas. In Spain, critics of the memory law have not proposed similar solutions, choosing confrontation over reform, a pattern seen in other recent disputes, as reported earlier.
Spain’s Constitution was designed to prevent collective denationalization and mass loss of rights without due process. The Supreme Court’s temporary order, though not final, sets a troubling precedent. A group recognized by law has been excluded from political life through a judicial shortcut that ignores constitutional protections and the reality faced by descendants of exiles. The episode exposes the legal weaknesses of the 2022 instruction and the willingness of some to use those gaps for political aims, putting Spain’s commitment to individual rights and historical justice in question.
