Compulsory Voting and Electoral Participation of Latin American Migrants in Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands

Abstract

An increasing number of countries have granted electoral rights to their citizens living abroad. An understanding of the different dimensions of the electoral behaviour of migrants and the institutional characteristics of their countries of origin and residence is crucial for their political integration and (re-)socialization. Based on an aggregate-level design, this article evaluates the impact of compulsory voting on non-resident citizens' voter turnout taking into account both origin and residence country contexts, providing insights into the dual context of political transnationalism. It explores the participation of Latin American migrants residingin Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands in all their national and supranational elections since 2005, creating singular electoral environments where the voting obligation varies in the countries of origin and residence. The article finds that compulsory voting has a positive impact on non-resident citizens' voter turnout and suggests trends of analysis of prospective electoral behaviour in a dual institutional context.

Electoral turnout of foreign‐born residents in Chile: an analysis with data from the administrative census and opinion polls

“…Regarding mandatory voting, Voicu and Comşa (2014) conclude that migrants who come from countries with mandatory voting are more likely to vote in elections in the residence country. In the same vein, Umpierrez de Reguero and Dandoy (2022) show that compulsory voting has a positive impact on the participation of non‐resident citizens. Particularly, political socialisation in the country of origin and among migrants of the same citizenship is more important than re‐socialisation in the country of residence.…”

Investigating Party Abroad: Party Origins and Degrees of Formalization

“…Østergaard-Nielsen et al (2019) demonstrate that in contexts with significant policy changes regarding emigrant voting rights, some party families (e.g., center-right parties) are more likely to support emigrant enfranchisement. Moving beyond considerations tied to various stages in migrant enfranchisement (Palop-García & Pedroza, 2019), the variation in the implementation of legal rights (Wellman et al, 2023), or aspects such as migrants' partisan attitudes and turnout (Ciornei & Østergaard-Nielsen, 2020;S. A. Umpierrez de Reguero & Dandoy, 2022), this level of analysis also delves into parties' activities in the electoral realm.…”