New election rules change EU citizens' eligibility to vote

The new rules, included in the former Government's Elections Act 2022, remove the general right of EU citizens to register, vote or stand in certain elections, except for the following groups:

• 'qualifying EU citizens' - citizens from EU countries with reciprocal agreements with the UK (currently Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain)
• 'EU citizens with retained rights' - EU citizens from other EU countries who were legally resident in the UK before 31 December 2020

The new rules apply to all local council elections, mayoral elections, and elections for police and crime commissioners. EU citizens have never had the right to vote in General Elections.

More than 7,000 EU citizens currently registered to vote in Rugby look set to be contacted by the council's electoral services team in the coming weeks during an Eligibility Confirmation and Review (ECR) process.

During the review, all qualifying EU citizens and EU citizens with retained rights look set to receive written confirmation from the council of their eligibility to remain registered to vote. 

In certain cases, EU citizens may be asked to confirm eligibility in order to remain on the electoral register.

Aftab Razzaq, Returning Officer for Rugby, said the majority of EU citizens currently registered to vote in Rugby were qualifying EU citizens or EU citizens with retained rights.

"We do not expect many of our registered voters from the EU to be impacted by the changes to eligibility, but we have to complete an ECR to comply with the new rules and give our EU citizens clarity on their voting rights," Mr Razzaq added.

"If you receive a letter from the council's electoral services team confirming your voting and candidacy rights, there's nothing more you need to do. 

"If you receive a letter requesting confirmation of your eligibility to vote, please respond as quickly as possible so we can update the electoral register."

The new rules also change EU citizens' rights to stand as candidates in local elections. EU citizens who wish to stand for election must now have been legally resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 or be a 'qualifying EU citizen' from either Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain.

None of the new rules affect the voting rights of citizens from Ireland, Malta or Cyprus who reside in the UK.

For more information, visit www.rugby.gov.uk/EUcitizens