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What it is

Proposal so judges assess voting rights case by case

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 7 February 2017. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Mixto.

Official title: Organic private member's bill amending Article 3 of Organic Act 5/1985, of 19 July, on the General Electoral Regime, regarding the right to vote of incapacitated persons or those judicially interned.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000068· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. This is a bill introduced by the Mixed Parliamentary Group (Grupo Parlamentario Mixto), at the request of two lawmakers from UPN. It is not an approved law. It would change Article 3 of the General Electoral Regime organic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes., which currently allows courts to remove the right to vote from people declared incapacitated or committed to a psychiatric hospital.
  2. The bill relies on the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which guarantees these people the right to vote on equal terms, and on a United Nations committee recommendation that all people with disabilities have the right to vote.
  3. The bill would amend paragraph 2 of Article 3 so that judges, when ruling on incapacity to vote, must give reasons and assess each case individually, based on a mandatory medical expert report. It also preserves the right to ask the court to restore legal capacity or change the scope of the incapacity ruling.

Who it affects

  • People declared incapacitated by a court ruling: The bill seeks to prevent them from automatically losing the right to vote; only an individualized judicial assessment could restrict it.
  • People committed to a psychiatric hospital with judicial authorization: Same as above: a judge would have to assess their specific case before removing their vote.
  • Judges and courts handling incapacity or commitment proceedings: They would have to give reasons for their decision on voting rights and rely on a mandatory medical expert report.

Words worth knowing

Sufragio
The right to vote in elections.
Incapacitación
A court decision declaring that a person cannot manage certain matters on their own and needs someone to represent or assist them.
LOREG
Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General, the Spanish law that regulates elections.
Dictamen pericial médico
A report prepared by a medical expert to help the judge assess a person's health situation.
Proposición de ley orgánica
A bill proposing changes to an organic law. It is not a law until Congress and the Senate approve it.
organic law
A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced7 February 2017Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted14 February 2017The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Dec 2017Dec 201811. 7 February 2017: Presentación22. 14 February 2017: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 14/02/2017 hasta 17/02/201733. 14 February 2017: Calificación44. 17 February 2017: Gobierno Contestación desde 17/02/2017 hasta 27/03/201755. 27 March 2017: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 27/03/2017 hasta 05/03/201966. 5 March 2019: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 05/03/2019 hasta 27/03/2019

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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