British Expat denied appeal over expat voting decision.

The Telegraph newspaper reports that James Preston's, a British expat, attempt to force the Government to give him the right to vote in elections was recently overthrown by judges has been refused permission to appeal.

He went to the High Court last year to challenge the ban on Britons voting after they have lived abroad for 15 years. He argued that the time limit was an infringement of his rights under EU law to move to other member states without discrimination, but the case was summarily dismissed in December. He then lodged permission to take the case to the Court of Appeal, but was informed last week this application has been denied.

 Read the full article here: James Preston denied appeal over expat voting decision - Telegraph.

This is a blow for many of us who continue to have to pay taxes in the UK but choose to live outside the UK for what ever reason. Shouldn't it be 'No taxation without representation'?

Expatriate Residents Apathy to Voting :- No Vote, No Right to Complain!

Time and time again we hear in the local expatriate frequented bars and restaurants, and we read in the local English newspapers, of complaints from foreign residents in the Orihuela Municipality, and in particular in Orihuela Costa, about the Town Council's failures to look after the needs of the residents.

On the 22nd May 2011 the citizens of the municipality will have the opportunity to voice their opinions in the ultimate way by casting their vote in the local elections.

That is provided they have registered their intention to vote on the Electoral Register by the 31st December 2010!

To activate the foreign residents to register there is currently running various campaigns of encouragement under the title of 'No Vote, No Voice'. There currently is, and has been for several months, a plethora of information in newspapers and on government websites on how to, and the importance of, registering to vote in the May 2011, and future, local elections, aimed at non-Spanish residents.

Unfortunately from the information I have received, from different sources, the campaign 'No Vote, No Voice' in its various guises has at this point in time in Orihuela Costa failed to produce a substantial increase in the number of voter registrations.

Not because there has not been enough information available but because of expatriate residents apathy with regards voting!

Let me explain!

To be included on the Electoral Register a resident has first of all to be registered on the municipal civil register, the 'Padrón', a record of all residents within the council area. Unlike Spanish residents who when they register on the Padrón are automatically also included on the electoral list, peculiarly and unfairly, expatriate residents have not been offered this but have had to ask to be added. This was something they were not made aware of.

Because of this inequality the Censo Electoral office covering the Alicante province in which Orihuela is situated has, as a result of political pressure, sent out by post approximately 7500 electoral registration application forms to those foreign residents who have been added to the Padron since 2007 and not added to the electoral register. The completed forms can be posted back to the electoral office.

From information supplied from the 'Censo Electoral' office it would seem that as at the 31st October of the 7500 forms sent out only 450 have been returned completed, that is just 6% or 1 in 16 persons.

However of those returned 100 showed that the resident did not want the right to vote. That reduces the percentage of those saying they wish to vote to just 4.7% or less than 1 in 20 of the electorate.

The deadline for returning the form is the end of December so there could still be a chance of a few more being returned. Having said this there is also the facility to return them direct to the Town Hall. There are no firm numbers by this route. Being generous let's assume the same number as by post. That would still only give a figure of 700 positive registrations being just 9.4% of eligible new residents since 2007 wishing to have the right to vote!

In the elections in May 2007 there were only 3500 Orihuela Costa residents registered to vote out of a population in the region of 27000; that was just less than 13%. It is a fact that since 2007 many expatriates have returned to their home countries so the meagre 3500 will have without doubt reduced in number. The exact figure is not known but let's assume a conservative 10% reducing the figure to 3150. Now to this must be added the possible increase of 700 giving an estimated total of 3850 registered voters in Orihuela Costa; that is only 14.25% of the population.

As expatriate residents account for the substantial majority of the total population in Orihuela Costa that is why I believe that the majority of them are apathetic towards voting in the local elections for the Orihuela Town Council. They are very ready to complain vociferously about the failings of the incumbent council but not to do something about it and put their vote where their voice is!

What is the solution to get them to vote? I don't know. Perhaps there isn't a cure for apathy, unless it hits their wallets.

But it is hitting their pockets. They are paying taxes for services that they are not getting from the council. They are being conned out of their money by the council for inferior quality infrastructure, for inferior levels of policing, for inferior quality schooling for their children, inferior social amenities, inferior quality of environment, and many more failures that result in an inferior overall quality of life in Orihuela Costa.

I cannot see the logic of any resident not wishing to have the right to vote in local government elections where they live. I have no truck with the idea that foreign residents shouldn't get involved in local politics. The phrase 'No taxation without representation' springs to mind.

If only I could shout aloud to the electorate.

“Wake up citizens of Orihuela, act now so you can voice your opinion in the ballot box with your vote. Get your butts off the settee, or the bar stool, or the cafeteria bench, or the restaurant chair, and get your electoral register form completed and get it to the Town Hall or electoral censor office before the end of December, so you can vote in May 2011. The council that is elected then will control your environment and life as a resident of the municipality for the next four years. If you want change for the better then you must vote. If you don't vote, and don't get what you want, don't complain afterwards”!

Perhaps the campaign should be renamed to 'No Vote – No Right to Complain'.

What are my postal voting rights?

Having said previously that I'm an angry expat because I haven't received my vote, it is 11 days after the date of the UK General Election (6th May 2010) and still neither my wife or I have received our postal vote ballot papers.

Two seperate emails ( 30th April & 7th May) have been sent to the Electoral Registration Officer of the North Kesteven District Council pointing out the fact that we have not received the voting papers, and to seek clarification and proof that the papers were actually sent. The Council Officer has failed to reply to either of the two emails. The conclusion that must be reached is that the gentleman doesn't give a dam!

Having read the article What are my postal voting rights? by Corinna Ferguson of the Guardian it would seem there is no further action that can be taken. She writes

Under regulation 76, returning officers may use royal mail, commercial postal services or they can deliver ballot packs by hand. The court of appeal found in a case in 2004 that the returning officer's obligations are discharged by handing the ballots to the royal mail or other carrier, and that he or she cannot be held liable for delays in the postal system. This was partly because regulation 78 provides a safety net for when the ballot papers are not received.

It will interesting to see, if the ballot papers ever arrive, whether or not the full and correct address was used for the posting. Does an incorrect address put the liability back in the hands of the electoral registration officer?

Of course there is always the wonder - were the voting papers ever sent!

Voting problems on the 6th May 2010

For anyone who experienced voting problems at the polling stations on the 6th May this is the webpage on the Electoral Commission's site for reporting details'

Voting problems - Electoral Commission

I'm an angry expat: where's my vote?

Having written and sent a complaint to the North Kesteven District Council, responsible for the area in which I've registered as a postal voter, they only sent the final ballot papers out on the 28th April, I was going to write a blog posting about the fiasco of postal votes.

Having read the following blog by Anna Nicholas I don't need to as her article says it all. I'm an angry expat: where's my vote? – Telegraph Blogs
Except for her last comment!

POWER2010: Get Involved in Reforming Your Democracy

Longterm UK Expats right to vote in UK

Two interesting articles about the entitlement of UK Expats, who have been absent from their homeland for more than 15 years, to vote in UK General elections, on the Majorcan Pearls weblog.

The first entitled Judicial review of the expat right to vote outlines the case being put forward by James Preston for his right to vote in the UK.

The second Mr Clegg tells expats they can't have the vote comments on the written response fom Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, to James Preston in which NC says; "that his party supports existing legislation preventing British expats from voting back home after residing overseas for more than 15 years". Reference is made to the fact that Mr Clegg's Spanish wife, Miriam González Durántez, can continue to vote in Spanish elections.