How Many Brits Can Vote in the Municipal Elections?

Elections are undoubtably one of the most important events which allows the majority of the public to make decisions which actually impact their lives. And yet, despite the importance, there are still many who choose not to vote, for various reasons, as well as those who are not eligible.

Whereas we cannot vote in national elections in Spain, we can vote locally, but the effects of the British population decline post Brexit will be seen for the first time this year.

We already know that two of the biggest enclaves for British residents in this area, Torrevieja and Orihuela, have both seen the number of United Kingdom residents on the Electoral Register decline by some 1,000 people in each.

Although the power of our voice is declining, it makes it even more important to make sure those of us who are eligible do go out and make our vote count.

But what is the overall picture of the foreign population eligible to vote in the elections in 2023?

According to the figures published by the Institute of National Statistics, for the 2023 local elections in May there are 414,692 foreigners eligible to vote across the country.

In terms of the overall power available to foreign voters, we might not be surprised to learn that Madrid is the leading province, where 63,192 eligible voters are registered. In second place however is Alicante, with 43,491, followed by Barcelona with 41,167 eligible foreign voters.

At the bottom end of the national scale are Cueta, with just 33 foreign voters registered, then Melilla with 78, trailing way behind Palencia with 394.

When we break the figures down to look specifically at those registered voters from the United Kingdom, we get a very different picture. In first place now is the province of Alicante, home of course to both Torrevieja and Orihuela we mentioned. Alicante province has 11,340 United Kingdom nationals registered to vote in 2023, so around a quarter of all the foreign voters are Brits.

In second place in terms of UK voters is Malaga, with 5,165, around half that of Alicante. We almost half the figure again when we look at third place, held by Almeria with 3,012 British voters, again, around a quarter of the total in Alicante, roughly speaking.

For its part, Madrid holds fifth place with 2,010, slightly below fourth place which is Alicante’s neighbour, Murcia, with 2,116.

At the bottom end of the UK scale is Cueta once again with just 2 registered voters, then Melilla again with 3, and Zamora with 5 eligible Brits.

We can also break down the information to ascertain where the foreign voters come from overall, a picture which also shows us the importance of the British vote in Alicante, the registered voters from the UK, those 11,340 we already mention, are almost double the number two spot which is held by voters from Germany, where 6,526 nationals are eligible to cast their vote. What might surprise you is that the Netherlands holds third place with 4,934 eligible voters. In fourth place is Rumania, then France and Belgium.

In neighbouring Murcia, the picture is different once again. In first place are voters from Rumania, where 2,255 are registered to vote, pushing the Brits into second place, with 2,116. However, both of these are considerably higher than the third-place country, which is France, with 987 eligible voters. Italy, Bulgaria and Germany then follow.

To finalise our journey, we will return to the province of Madrid, home to the capital city, for comparison. Of the 63,192 eligible foreign voters in the province, around a third are from Rumania, with 26,707 registered voters. This figure is around three times that of the second-place country, which is Italy, with 9,900 voters. In third place is France with 5,045. The UK is pushed into eighth-place in Madrid, with 2,010 registered voters, not quite as many as Murcia and around a quarter of those registered in Alicante.

What the figures tell us is that despite the declining numbers, the foreign vote is still important, your voice is important, more so in the Alicante province. Those political groups who have neglected the foreign population are playing a dangerous game if they want the support back, but the overall message combining the importance against the potential neglect is that your vote still matters, and so, if you are eligible to vote, now is not the time to be lethargic, especially as our numbers are in decline, and to extend the notion further, your vote matters even more than ever.

Registered Voters from the United Kingdom by Leading Province in Spain 2023:

Total Foreign Registered Voters by Leading Province 2023:

Data from INE