Immigrant Voting Project - Around the World

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Around the World

GLOBAL RESIDENT VOTING TIMELINE

The following is a partial list of nations in which varying jurisdictions have passed laws permitting noncitizens to cast ballots in the years indicated.

france France (2006): 2/3 of residents of town of Saint-Denis votes in favor of allowing noncitizens local voting rights; court rules that vote is non-binding

bulg Bulgaria (2005): EU nationals granted right to vote in local elections

eston Estonia (2004): Russian-speaking minority with permanent resident status granted voting rights in local elections

italy Italy (2004): immigrants allowed to vote for four nonvoting members of Rome city council and one nonvoting seat at each of 19 district councils

belg Belgium (2004): local elections

lux Luxembourg (2003): local voting rights passed. no nationality restrictions

austria Austria (2002): local elections in Vienna

slovak Slovakia (2002): local voting rights for 3-year residents

sloven Slovenia (2002): local voting rights for 3-year residents

lith Lithuania (2002): EU nationals granted local voting rights

Czech Republic (2001): voting rights in local elections approved for EU nationals

boliv Bolivia (1994): changed constitution to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections (not yet implemented)

col Colombia (1991): changed constitution to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections (not yet implemented)

barb Barbados (1990): citizens of British Commonwealth can vote in national elections

hung Hungary (1990): local elections for permanent residents (revised 2004 to limit to EU nationals)

germ Germany (1989): states of Schleswig-Holstein approved local voting rights for Danish, Irish, Norse, Dutch, Swedish, and Swiss 5-year residents; state of Hamburg approved local voting for 8-year residents; West Berlin passed local voting for 5-year residents. All were struck down by constitutional court in 1990.

chil Chile (1989): local and national elections

ice Iceland (1986): 3-year residents from Nordic Union citizens can vote in local elections

spain Spain (1985): local elections

aust Australia (1984): repealed 1947 legislation but grandfathered those registered before 1984

ven Venezuela (1983): 10-year residents can vote in local and state elections

fin Finland (1981): Nordic Union citizens can vote in local elections (expanded in 1991 to all 4-year residents)

neth Netherlands (1979): Local elections in Rotterdam (expanded nationwide in 1985)

nor Norway (1978): local elections for Nordic Union (expanded in 1995 for 3-year residents)

den Denmark (1977): local elections for Nordic Union (expanded in 1981 for all foreign residents)

port Portugal (1976): national and some local elections (expanded 1997 to all 3-year residents)

swed Sweden (1975): local and regional elections, plus some national referenda

New Zealand (1975): local and national elections

eire Ireland (1963): local elections (expanded 1984 to remove 6-month residency requirement and to allow British citizens the vote on the national level)

uru Uruguay (1952): national elections for 15-year residents

israel Israel (1950): local elections for Jewish residents only

aus Australia (1947): national and local for British nationals only

United Kingdom (1948): national elections for Commonwealth and Irish citizens

switz Switzerland (1849): 5-year residents in Neuchatel canton (expanded in 1979 for 10-year residents in Jura canton)

can Canada (date n/a): Commonwealth citizens only

braz Brazil (date n/a): Portuguese citizens only

Cape Verde (date n/a): Portuguese citizens only

bel Belize (date n/a): national and local voting rights for three-year residents

Additional jurisdictions:

European Union (1992): reciprocal local and European Parliament elections for all member nations

Nordic Union (1970s): local elections

Hong Kong: permanent residents are granted local voting rights

Failed or stalled initiatives:

japan Japan (2000): legislation considered to supercede 1995 supreme court ruling against noncitizen voting rights, but did not pass

lat Latvia (2000)

fra France (1981 and 2000)

Source: The Immigrant Voting Project

NONCITIZEN VOTING
AROUND THE WORLD:
AN OVERVIEW

As the labor market globalizes, countries rightly are concerned about how to foster a sense of belonging and civic responsibility among the migrant workers on whom they depend.

As one way of addressing this question, 15 countries in Europe, Latin America, and the British Commonwealth approved varying forms of noncitizen voting rights between 1963 and 1992. Often this was on a reciprocal basis within groups of affiliated nations—as within the Nordic Union or between Portugal and its former colonies.

Today, jurisdictions at varying levels in approximately 40 countries around the world have approved some form of immigrant suffrage. Recently, Belgium , Austria, and Rome have approved laws according various levels of voting rights to noncitizen residents. READ MORE

Other Resources:

(Mostly In French) The Suffrage Universel website contains a wealth of information on resident voting rights around the world.

Immigrant Voting Project and New York University Law Students for Human Rights Summaries:

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