Changes to European Union Citizens voting and candidacy rights

EU Citizens voting rights

• From 7 May 2024, EU electors will only be able to vote at elections and referendums that use the local government franchise in England, if they are:
  • a qualifying EU citizen, or
  • an EU citizen with retained rights.
• A person is a qualifying EU citizen if they:
  • are a citizen of a country with which the UK has a bilateral voting and candidacy rights (VCR) treaty; and
  • are resident in the UK with any form of leave to remain, or do not require such leave
• Currently the UK holds bilateral treaties with Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.
• A person is an EU citizen with retained rights if they:
  • are a citizen of a country with which the UK does not have a bilateral voting and candidacy rights (VCR) treaty and;
  • have been legally resident in the UK since before the UK left the EU on 31 December 2020 implementation period completion date (IPCD) and;
  • have retained unbroken lawful immigration status or exemption from immigration law requirements between the IPCD and the point they apply to be registered, or when they confirm their residency as part of the eligibility confirmation and review (ECR) process.
• From 7 May 2024 there is a new application and determination process for EU citizens to take account of the franchise changes including a yes/no question to confirm historical residency.

 

Eligibility Confirmation Review (ECR) Process

• Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are required to conduct the ECR from 7 May 2024 to determine if existing EU electors are eligible to remain registered under the new criteria.
• The ECR process will consist of 2 parts: the data-based review process and the correspondence-based review.
• The data-based review provides for the use of any data which the ERO may hold or have access to for the purpose of their registration duties. This will enable the ERO to identify qualifying EU citizens and EU citizens with retained rights, without taking any further action other than to write out to the elector to confirm they are being retained on the register. It is expected most EU electors will be able to be confirmed through the data-based review, including all qualifying EU Citizens.
• Where an elector cannot be confirmed via data, the correspondence-based review will be used to write to ask for confirmation of eligibility to be registered to vote under the new franchise criteria. This will be done by asking electors to confirm if they meet the new historical residency requirements. Electors will receive up to three review notices including a personal contact. If no response is received in this time, the ERO will determine they are ineligible to remain registered. This process will commence from 24 May 2024.
• Where a response is received, the ERO may ask for additional information where they are not satisfied the new criteria have been met. The additional information they can request includes documentary evidence such as a passport, or biometric residence card, or a statement of eligibility.
• Where an elector is deemed to still be eligible to vote their franchise marker on the register of electors will change from a ‘G’ to a ‘B’.
• If a by-election was to occur during the ECR process, an EU elector will remain eligible to vote if they have been determined to be a qualifying EU Citizen, an EU Citizen with retained rights, or are yet to be reviewed in the ECR. If an elector has already been deemed to be ineligible to vote by the ERO and this has been reflected in the Notice of Alteration,  they will not be eligible to vote in the by-election.

 

Candidacy rights

• The franchise and candidacy changes came into effect five calendar days after the scheduled May polls in 2024: i.e., from 7th May 2024.
• Any by-elections or scheduled polls that now take place will be subject to the new criteria – i.e., a candidate must be either a qualifying EU Citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights to stand and take up office.

 

For further information on the changes to EU citizens voting and candidacy rights, please contact us online.

Additional information is available from the Electoral Commission website.