The political rights of emigrants

23rd June 5:30 pmSOAS, University of London, room G3

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Voting in the mobile age

AGENDA

Paulo Costa, Migrants United “The experience of a electoral registration campaign”

- André Freire, Professor at ISCTE, Researcher at CIES, Lisbon University Institute “The political rights of emigrants: the Portuguese case in a comparative perspective”

- Samia Badani, New Europeans “The vote of the ex-pats”

- Hugo de Armas Estevez, Marea Granate London “The Spanish vote abroad”

The experience of an electoral registration campaign

Paulo Costa

Migrants United

Voting in the mobile age

The campaign

Migrantes Unidos started a campaign to get Portuguese immigrants to register to vote for the upcoming elections (Sep 2015 – Jan 2016)

President of the Republic

→ viveruk.org/votar-portugal/

Voting as a right?

There are significant hurdles in the registration in the voting

process

You are out – you are out

The Portuguese state assumes that its emigrants do not want to vote:when you change your official address to a foreign country, you are no longer allowed to vote unless you register to vote, again

→ Why not automatic registration?

Only the skilledChange of address has to be made

on site – on the consulate.

Alternative way is to use THE ID card AND buy a card reader AND install the software AND use the pins

( process explained at viveruk.org)

→why not simplify?

Use your feet

Registration has to be made physically in the Portuguese Consulates

→ Internet, anyone? → Or even simple mail?

I am late? Really?Latest day for Portuguese people

to register: 60 days before the elections

Latest day for British people to register: 1 week before the elections

Many people will not vote because when they find out about the elections it will be too late for them to register

→ Are we really this slow?

→ Can't we reduce this deadline? Really?

Vote, at lastUse your feet again for 2 out of 3 elections.

Postal vote only allowed for Parliament

President of the Republic

Against all oddsPolitical hurdles

Voters do not trust politicians Politicians do not trust voters

Process hurdles Register again

Technical hurdles What is a card reader?

Geographical hurdles 5 hours trip to the consulate?

Timing hurdles To work or to register? Too late to register

Numbers talk

In the UK:

Portuguese living in the UK (estimate): 200,000

Portuguese registered to vote: 900

Voters0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

Coluna 1Coluna 2

The mobile age

Questions

Voters are now extremely mobile: Do immigration constituencies still make sense?

We live in an internet age, we transfer money without physical interaction

Internet registration? Electronic vote? French emmigrants already vote using the internet

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Voting in the mobile age