Voting from abroad in European Parliament elections

Written by Carmen-Cristina Cîrlig and Maria Margarita Mentzelopoulou (updated on 22.03.2024).

Across the European Union (EU), national provisions regarding the right to vote for citizens living abroad are not consistent. However, recent legislative changes seem to suggest a positive trend towards allowing out-of-country voting in most EU Member States.

When it comes to voting from abroad, countries need to carefully assess and address various issues. These include: the identification of potential voters; how to inform them about their right to vote and stand as a candidate from abroad; the design and implementation of timely registration processes; the training of staff in diplomatic missions (for in-person voting in consular and diplomatic missions); the design and implementation of secure voting procedures, as well as the possible transportation of ballots from abroad.

Against this backdrop, the legal and practical arrangements for voting in the European elections for citizens who live or are temporarily outside their home Member State vary greatly between the Member States. Most allow voting at embassies or consulates abroad, several allow citizens living abroad to vote by post, a few allow voting by proxy, and one (Estonia) allows electronic voting. On the other hand, Czechia, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia do not permit their citizens to vote in the European elections from abroad.

Ahead of the European elections in June 2024, this briefing provides an overview of the national provisions concerning voting from abroad in the 27 EU Member States.

This briefing is an update of one published in September 2023. The latest elections-related statistical information about the Member States is from August 2023, with the exception of Greece and Belgium, for which it was updated in March 2024.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Voting from abroad in European Parliament elections‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.