Opposition question Government on EU citizens denied vote in European election
4 June 2019 (updated on 4 June 2019)
Cat Smith asked an urgent question on EU citizens denied the vote in May 2019's European Parliament elections.
Voting for registered UK citizens and EU nationals in 2019's European Elections took place in the UK on Thursday 23 May.
Throughout the day, it was reported that a significant number of EU nationals were unable to vote, with the hashtag #deniedmyvote trending on Twitter. Factors including a failure by councils to send out relevant forms to EU nationals, or to process those returned in time are suggested to have been factors, with the Electoral Commission saying;
"The very short notice from the government of the UK's participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process."
Estimates for how many may have been affected by these issues range from hundreds, to thousands.
Responding for the Cabinet Office, Minister Kevin Foster told the House,
"The Government took all the legal steps necessary to prepare for the European Parliamentary elections and put in place all the neccesary legislative and funding elements to enable returning officers to make their preparations."
- Watch Parliament TV: EU Citizens being denied the vote in EU Parliament Elections
- Read Commons Hansard: EU Citizens being denied the vote in EU Parliament Elections
Following the statement, Cat Smith said;
"The Electoral Commission warned after the last set of European elections that we needed to streamline this two step process like other European nations."
Image: PC
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