Overview
- The Junta Electoral Central rejected demands to suspend preparation of the CERA, the register for Spaniards abroad, saying voting rights in the Constitution and electoral law prevent a pause.
- The JEC instructed the Oficina del Censo Electoral to draft a binding instruction for all consulados that specifies how to determine a newly naturalized voter’s municipality of inscription.
- The instruction must explain how to prove 'mayor arraigo', list acceptable supporting documents, and define when the consulate should determine a municipality of its own motion.
- The census office told the JEC it has mechanisms for updating, controlling and tracing CERA entries but did not resolve whether the current municipality-assignment procedure is legally correct.
- Political parties raised the issue after around 2.5 million naturalization requests under the ley de nietos, a measure that lets descendants of exiles claim Spanish nationality and could affect where overseas ballots are counted.