Politics of the Low Countries

Article

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

Keywords political (re-)socialization, external voting, voter turnout, compulsory voting, migrant integration
Authors Sebastián Umpierrez de Reguero en Régis Dandoy
DOI
Author's information

Sebastián Umpierrez de Reguero
Sebastián Umpierrez de Reguero is Research Associate at the European University Institute and a Visiting Scholar at Universidad Casa Grande. He is Dual PhD at Diego Portales and Leiden Universities.

Régis Dandoy
Régis Dandoy is Professor of Comparative Politics at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Associate Researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles and Waseda University.
  • 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 residing in 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.

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