Electoral Rights Survey requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors. Fieldwork Publication March 2016 TNS Political & Social
Electoral Rights Survey conducted by TNS political & social at the request of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers Survey co-ordinated by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM Strategy, Corporate Communication Actions and Eurobarometer Unit)
Project number 2016.2788 Project title - March 2016 Electoral Rights Linguistic version EN Catalogue number DS-02-16-205-EN-N ISBN 978-92-79-56982-1 doi: 10.2838/198467 European Union, 2016 http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion
1 Electoral Rights TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 I. INCREASING TURNOUT IN EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 7 II. VOTING FOR CANDIDATES IN EUROPEAN AND LOCAL ELECTIONS 22 a. Country of residence versus country of origin 22 b. Non-national EU citizens as candidates in EP elections 29 c. Non-national EU citizens as candidates in local elections 33 III. THE RIGHT TO STAND AS A CANDIDATE FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICES A POSSIBLE EXTENSION OF THE ELECTORAL RIGHTS OF NON-NATIONAL EU CITIZENS 38 IV. MEANS FOR IMPROVING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF NON-NATIONAL EU CITIZENS 41 a. Facilitating the right to vote in the country of residence 41 b. Facilitating the right to vote in the country of origin 53 V. LEVEL OF CONCERN OF EU CITIZENS TOWARDS ELECTRONIC, ONLINE AND POSTAL VOTING 59 ANNEXES Technical specifications Questionnaire Tables
2 Electoral Rights INTRODUCTION In 1993, the Treaty of Maastricht established the citizenship of the European Union, and set out a clear set of rights available to nationals of all EU Member States. European citizenship is additional to and does not replace national citizenship of a Member State. A key additional right EU citizenship confers includes the right to vote for and stand as a candidate in European Parliament and municipal elections 1. Participating in local and European elections enables citizens to be involved in democracy and to influence the decision-making process. Furthermore, the right, for EU citizens who reside in a Member State other than their own, to participate in local and European elections in the country of residence under the same conditions as nationals, provides the opportunity for such citizens to become more integrated in the political and social life of their host society. The European Commission monitors Member States implementation and application of these rights, and informs EU citizens about their electoral rights, encouraging them to participate actively in the democratic life of the Union. Work undertaken in this area includes: the Fundamental Rights & Citizenship Programme 2007-2013, which contributed to developing actions aimed at promoting information and civic education initiatives to increase turnout in elections; 12 projects about active participation in the democratic life of the Union, which were financed with grants of more than EUR 3.8 million between 2007 and 2010; a public consultation in 2010 that led to the first EU Citizenship 2 identifying the main obstacles citizens faced when making use of their EU rights in their daily lives, and proposing 25 actions designed to eliminate such obstacles; continuing to make active participation in the democratic life of the Union a priority in the Work Programme of 2011; a further public consultation launched in 2012 that fed in to the second EU Citizenship 3, with 12 new actions in six key areas put forward to solve citizens problems; the European Year of Citizens in 2013, raising awareness among citizens of their right to move and reside freely within the EU, and their broad range of rights in a cross-border context, including electoral rights; the launch of a handbook in 2014: Did you know? 10 EU rights at a glance, giving citizens information on their main EU rights in simple words and a few pictures, including electoral rights; a third public consultation launched in September 2015, which will feed into the 2016 EU Citizenship. 1 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/voting-rights/index_en.htm The other key rights include: the right to move and reside freely within the EU; the right to be protected by the diplomatic and consular authorities of any other EU country; and the right to petition the European Parliament and complain to the European Ombudsman. 2 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/files/com_2010_603_en.pdf 3 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/files/2013eucitizenshipreport_en.pdf
3 Electoral Rights This Flash Eurobarometer survey on electoral rights (No 431) builds on the work of previous Electoral Rights Flash Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2012 4, 2010 5, 2007 6 and 2002 7. It investigates Europeans views on a range of questions associated with electoral issues and electoral rights within the EU, with a particular focus on the rights of EU citizens living in an EU country other than the country where they are a citizen. Specifically, Europeans were asked to offer their views on: ways to increase voter participation in European Parliament elections; whether the inclusion of non-national candidates could attract more votes in European Parliament and local elections; if they were resident in a Member State other than their own, whether they would prefer to vote for the candidates of their country of residence or the candidates of their country of origin in European Parliament elections; whether local election rights should be extended to include the right to stand as a candidate for executive offices; how participation in elections (both in the country of residence and country of origin) could be made easier; and how concerned they would be about certain risks associated with voting electronically, online or by post 8. This Flash Eurobarometer survey was carried out by the TNS Political & Social network in the 28 Member States of the European Union between the 3 rd and the 5 th of. Some 26,557 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed via telephone (mobile and fixed line) in their mother tongue on behalf of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. The methodology used is that of Eurobarometer surveys as carried out by the Directorate-General for Communication ( Strategy, Corporate Communication Actions and Eurobarometer Unit) 9. A technical note on the manner in which interviews were conducted by the Institutes within the TNS Political & Social network is appended as an annex to this report. Also included are the interview methods and confidence intervals 10. The findings of the survey have been analysed firstly at an EU level and secondly by country. At an EU level, the results are based on the 28 Member States. Wherever possible, comparisons are made with the previous Flash Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2012 and 2010. Where appropriate, a range of socio-demographic variables (respondents gender, age, terminal education age and occupation scale) and two key variables from the survey (whether respondents think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for certain executive offices in their country of residence and what their voting preference would be in European Parliament elections country of origin or country of residence should they be living in an EU country that is not their country of origin) are used to provide further analysis. 4 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_364_en.pdf 5 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_292_en.pdf 6 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_213_en.pdf 7 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl133_en.pdf (EU15 Member States only) 8 This survey excludes some questions about electoral rights that were included in past Electoral Rights Flash Eurobarometer surveys which, in 2015, form part of a separate Flash Eurobarometer survey on EU Citizenship (No. 430). 9 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm 10 The results tables are included in the annex. It should be noted that the total of the percentages in the tables of this report may exceed 100% when the respondent has the possibility of giving several answers to the question.
4 Electoral Rights Note: In this report, countries are referred to by their official abbreviation. The abbreviations used in this report correspond to: Belgium BE Lithuania LT Bulgaria BG Luxembourg LU Czech Republic CZ Hungary HU Denmark DK Malta MT Germany DE The Netherlands NL Estonia EE Austria AT Greece EL Poland PL Spain ES Portugal PT France FR Romania RO Croatia HR Slovenia SI Ireland IE Slovakia SK Italy IT Finland FI Republic of Cyprus* CY Sweden SE Latvia LV United Kingdom UK European Union weighted average for the 28 Member States BE, IT, FR, DE, LU, NL, DK, UK, IE, PT, ES, EL, AT, SE, FI EU28 EU15 * Cyprus as a whole is one of the 28 European Union Member States. However, the acquis communautaire has been suspended in the part of the country which is not controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. For practical reasons, only the interviews carried out in the part of the country controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus are included in the CY category and in the EU28 average. ** EU15 refers to the 15 countries forming the European Union before the enlargements of 2004, 2007 and 2013. We wish to thank the people throughout the European Union who have given their time to take part in this survey. Without their active participation, this study would not have been possible.
5 Electoral Rights EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Increasing turnout in European elections More than eight in ten Europeans agree that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided about: the impact that the EU has on their daily lives (84%), with the same proportions reported in 2010 and 2012; the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament (83%), with similar proportions recorded in 2010 and 2012; the European Parliament elections (82%), showing a small drop in the proportion compared with 2012 (-2 percentage points) but remaining slightly higher than that reported in 2010 (+2 points). More than three quarters of Europeans (77%) agree that turnout would be higher if they received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission. More than seven in ten Europeans (72%) agree that turnout would be higher if political parties displayed the European political party they are affiliated with in all campaign materials, similar to the result reported in 2012. Voting for candidates in European and local elections EU Citizens living in an EU country that is not their country of origin have the choice, in European elections, to vote in the country in which they are residing or in their country of origin. Europeans have no strong preference for or against this: 44% of Europeans say they would prefer to vote for the candidates in the country in which they are residing and 45% would prefer to vote for candidates in their country of origin. There has been a small shift in the balance of opinion over time. In 2012, Europeans were slightly more likely to show a preference for candidates of their country of residence, and in 2010 somewhat more likely to show a preference for candidates of their country of origin. A slight majority (51%) of Europeans think that including nationals from other EU countries on the candidate lists might attract more votes in European elections, with around one in nine (11%) thinking it would definitely boost votes. The results are very similar to those reported in 2012, but, compared with 2010, a notably larger proportion of Europeans now think that including such candidates could boost votes (+9 percentage points). Europeans are somewhat less likely to think that including nationals of other EU countries might increase the general turnout in local elections (43%), with one in ten (10%) thinking it would definitely increase turnout. There has been a small drop in the overall proportion who think their inclusion could increase the turnout compared to the level reported in 2012 (-3 percentage points), but it remains much higher than the level recorded in 2010 (+13 points). The possible extension of non-national EU citizens local electoral rights EU citizens living in an EU country that is not their country of origin have the right to stand as candidates in local elections in the country in which they live, but can be excluded from certain executive offices. Europeans have no strong preference for or against giving non-national EU citizens the right to stand as candidates for certain executive offices in their country: 47% think that they should and 48% think that they should not have this right.
6 Electoral Rights Means for improving political participation of non-national EU citizens In terms of specific practices that would make it easier for non-national EU citizens to vote in European and local elections in their country of residence: Around eight in ten Europeans agree that it would be easier if: o individual letters were received, explaining how to register and vote (80%); o registration on the electoral roll was automatic, as a result of registering as a resident (79%). Around seven in ten Europeans agree that voting would be easier if: o there was an online process for registering on the electoral roll (69%); o they had the ability to vote electronically or online (67%). Around three in five Europeans (62%) agree that being able to vote by post would make voting easier. In terms of specific practices that would make it easier for non-national EU citizens to vote in elections in their country of origin: Three quarters of Europeans (74%) agree that being able to vote in the embassy or consulate of the country of origin would make it easier. Around seven in ten Europeans (71%) think that being able to vote electronically or online would make it easier. Around two thirds of Europeans (68%) agree that being able to vote by post would make voting easier. Levels of concern of EU citizens towards electronic, online and postal voting Europeans main concerns about an electronic, online or postal system of voting are the difficulties some people might have using the system, and potential fraud: Around seven in ten Europeans (69%) would be concerned that the system might be difficult for some people (e.g. those with disabilities and older people) to use. Around six in ten Europeans (61%) would be concerned about potential fraud. Europeans are more evenly divided on concerns they might have about the secrecy of the vote and about voters being influenced by others: Just over half of Europeans (52%) say they would be concerned about the secrecy of the vote, and just under half (46%) say they would not. Just under half of Europeans (46%) say they would be concerned about voters being influenced by others, and just over half (52%) say they would not.
7 Electoral Rights I. INCREASING TURNOUT IN EUROPEAN ELECTIONS European Parliament elections are held every five years in all Member States. The eighth such election took place in May 2014, when more than 168 million Europeans voted. Turnout across the whole of the EU was broadly the same in 2014 as it was in 2009, at 43% 11. The first chapter of the report assesses Europeans opinions on what they think would improve turnout at European elections. Respondents were told that, in 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. They were then read out a number of possible ways of increasing voter turnout and, for each one, asked if they thought it would make turnout at European elections higher 12. 11 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2014-results/en/election-results-2014.html 12 Q4: In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout would be higher if... (READ OUT ONE ANSWER ONLY) more information was provided on the European Parliament elections; more information was provided on the impact of the European Union on your daily life; more information was provided on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament; political parties displayed in all campaign materials to which European political party they are affiliated; you received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission Yes; No; Don t know Note that in 2012 the answer scale was: Yes, definitely; Yes, to some extent; No, not really; No, definitely not; Don t know
8 Electoral Rights Most respondents think that providing more information on the candidates and parties, and on the European Parliament elections, as well as on the impact that the EU has on daily life, would increase voter turnout Q4 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? (% - EU) Yes No Don't know MORE INFO RMATION WAS PROVIDED ON THE IMPACT OF THE EU ON YOUR DAILY LIFE Nov. 2015 84 14 2 Nov. 2012 84 14 2 Mar. 2010 84 13 3 MORE INFO RMATION WAS PROVIDED ON THE PROGRAMMES AND OBJECTIVES OF CANDIDATES AND PARTIES IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Nov. 2015 83 15 2 Nov. 2012 84 14 2 Mar. 2010 83 14 3 MORE INFO RMATION WAS PROVIDED ON THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS Nov. 2015 82 16 2 Nov. 2012 84 14 2 Mar. 2010 80 17 3 YOU RECEIVED BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION Nov. 2015 77 20 3 POLITICAL PARTIES DISPLAYED IN ALL CAMPAIGN MATERIALS TO WHICH EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTY THEY ARE AFFILIATED Nov. 2015 72 23 5 Nov. 2012 73 22 5
9 Electoral Rights More than four in five respondents (84%) think that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the impact that the EU has on their daily lives. This proportion is the same as those reported in 2012 and 2010. A similar proportion (83%) say that more information on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament would improve turnout. This result is similar to those reported in 2012 and 2010. Just over four in five respondents (82%) believe that having more information on the European Parliament elections would increase turnout. There has been a small drop in the proportion compared with 2012 (-2 percentage points), but it remains higher than that reported in 2010 (+2 points). More than three quarters of respondents (77%) think turnout at European Parliament elections would be higher if they received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission. This statement is new to the 2015 survey. Just over seven in ten respondents (72%) think that, if political parties displayed the European political party to which they were affiliated in all campaign materials, voter turnout would be higher. This result is similar to that reported in 2012. These results will be considered in more detail in the following pages.
10 Electoral Rights In all Member States, more than seven in ten respondents think that providing more information on the impact of the EU on daily life would increase voter turnout at European elections. This view is most widespread in Ireland (92%), Spain (91%) and Portugal (89%), and least widespread in Cyprus (72%) and Slovenia (74%). Q4.2 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout ateuropean elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the impact of the EU on your daily life (% - YES) Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 92 91 89 88 87 86 86 86 85 85 90 93 86 85 86 86 87 85 84 89 81 89 89 91 85 83 83 83 81 84 IE ES PT IT NL PL SE UK FI LT 84 84 84 84 82 82 81 81 79 79 82 84 79 82 84 84 87 87 82 86 81 82 83 84 86 82 88 86 EL RO EU28 HR DK LV LU MT BG FR 78 78 78 77 77 77 76 74 72 80 80 81 81 82 77 80 80 82 79 73 86 72 77 79 78 84 83 BE DE HU AT EE SK CZ SI CY The results are broadly similar to those reported in 2012. There has been a drop in the proportion of respondents who think that supplying more of this information would increase voter turnout in 18 Member States. Such declines are, for the most part, small, with the most notable in Cyprus (-11 percentage points, from 83% in 2012 to 72% in 2015), Slovakia (-9 points, from 86% to 77%) and France (-7 points, from 86% to 79%). Among the eight Member States 13 where respondents are somewhat more likely now than in 2012 to believe that providing more of this information would improve turnout, the most notable increase is in Spain (+6 points, from 85% to 91%). In the one remaining Member State, Greece, opinion remains unchanged. 13 Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK, Finland, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary
11 Electoral Rights Looking at the longer-term picture, there are only two Member States showing a consistent trend since 2010 towards thinking that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the impact the EU has on daily life: Romania (+5 percentage points, from 79% in 2010 to 84% in 2015) and Lithuania (+4 points, from 81% to 85%). Three Member States show a consistent trend away from thinking that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the impact the EU has on daily life: Cyprus (- 12 percentage points, driven by a large decline between 2012 and 2015, outlined above); France (-9 points, also driven by a large decline between 2012 and 2015, outlined above); and Bulgaria (-7 points, from 86% to 79%, with a slightly larger decline between 2010 and 2012). In the remaining 22 Member States, there is no consistent pattern of opinion between 2010 and 2015. Any differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups are small. Those groups who are somewhat more likely to say that providing more information on the impact that the EU has on daily life would improve turnout at European elections are: younger people aged 39 or under: 15-24 year-olds and 25-39 year-olds (both 86%), and, in line with this, those who are still studying (86%) people who finished their full-time education aged 20 or over (86%) people who are employees (86%)
Electoral Rights Q4.2 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the impact of the EU on your daily life (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 84 14 2 Age 15-24 86 13 1 25-39 86 12 2 40-54 83 15 2 55 + 81 16 3 Education (End of) 15-79 17 4 16-19 81 16 3 20+ 86 13 1 Still studying 88 11 1 Respondent occupation scale S elf-employed 84 15 1 Employee 86 13 1 Manual workers 81 17 2 Not working 82 15 3 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 87 11 2 No 80 18 2 12
13 Electoral Rights At national level, at least seven in ten respondents in all but one Member State think that providing more information on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament would increase voter turnout at European elections. This view is most widespread in Portugal (91%), Spain (89%), Ireland (87%) and Italy (87%). The exception, where just under seven in ten respondents hold this view, is Estonia (68%). Q4.3 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout ateuropean elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament (% - YES) Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 91 89 87 87 84 84 84 84 83 83 85 81 85 84 89 89 89 88 82 85 83 82 80 86 85 89 80 81 84 87 PT ES IE IT EL LU PL SE LT NL 83 83 82 82 82 81 81 80 79 78 84 82 83 84 81 83 87 86 74 81 79 75 78 80 80 80 83 83 79 80 UK EU28 FI FR RO HU MT DE BG AT 78 78 77 74 73 72 70 70 68 77 81 81 86 70 82 71 77 83 82 82 79 78 74 75 75 BE HR LV SK CZ DK CY SI EE
14 Electoral Rights The results are broadly similar to those reported in 2012. There has been a drop in the proportion of respondents who believe that turnout at European elections would be higher if information on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties was provided in 18 Member States. Such declines are, for the most part, small. The exceptions, where there is a decline of more than five percentage points, are: Denmark (-10 percentage points, from 82% in 2012 to 72% in 2015); Latvia (-9 points, from 86% to 77%); Cyprus (-9 points, from 79% to 70%); Slovakia (-8 points, from 82% to 74%); and Estonia (-7 points, from 75% to 68%). Among the eight Member States 14 where respondents are somewhat more likely now than they were in 2012 to believe that providing this information would increase turnout, the most notable increases are in Portugal (+10 points, from 81% to 91%) and Hungary (+6 points, from 75% to 81%). In the one remaining Member State, Germany, opinion remains unchanged. Looking at the longer-term picture, there are only three Member States showing a consistent trend since 2010 towards thinking that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on programmes and objectives of candidates and parties: Lithuania, Romania and Malta. The most notable shift is in Romania (+8 percentage points, from 74% in 2010 to 82% in 2015, driven by a large increase between 2010 and 2012). Five Member States show a consistent trend away from thinking that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on programmes and objectives of candidates and parties: Cyprus (-12 percentage points, driven mostly by the large decline between 2012 and 2015 outlined earlier); Denmark (-11 points, again driven by the large decline between 2012 and 2015 outlined earlier); Slovenia (-8 points, from 78% to 70%); Estonia (-7 points from 75% to 68%); and France (-5 points, from 87% to 82%). Nineteen Member States show no consistent pattern between 2010 and 2015 on this measure, and, in the remaining country (Germany), opinion has remained unchanged across the three surveys. As seen in relation to the first measure reported in this chapter, differences between sociodemographic and key variable groups are mostly small. The groups most likely to say that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament are: younger people aged 39 or under, particularly 15-24 year-olds (90%), and, in line with this, those who are still studying (90%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (86%) 14 Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Lithuania, the UK, Romania, Hungary and Malta
Electoral Rights Q4.3 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the programmes and objectives of candidates and parties in the European Parliament (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 83 15 2 Age 15-24 90 8 2 25-39 85 13 2 40-54 82 16 2 55 + 79 17 4 Education (End of) 15-79 16 5 16-19 82 15 3 20+ 83 15 2 Still studying 90 8 2 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 86 12 2 No 80 18 2 15
16 Electoral Rights In all but one Member State, at least seven in ten respondents think that voter turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the European Parliament elections. Respondents in Portugal (89%), Spain (89%), Ireland (86%) and Italy (86%) are most likely to mention this. The exception, where slightly less than seven in ten respondents hold this view, is Slovenia (67%). Q4.1 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout ateuropean elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the European Parliament elections (% - YES) Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 89 89 86 86 85 85 84 83 83 82 83 85 85 84 86 88 87 87 74 80 83 83 82 89 77 84 78 81 82 79 PT ES IE IT RO UK SE EL LU LT 82 81 79 79 79 78 78 78 77 77 80 84 77 88 70 82 78 81 79 87 77 85 82 85 73 76 73 82 EU28 PL BE MT NL FI FR HU AT HR 76 76 75 73 72 72 70 70 67 78 83 77 80 80 89 77 80 66 80 68 81 79 78 75 81 74 76 BG DE LV DK CZ SK CY EE SI The proportion of respondents who say that providing more information on European Parliament elections would increase voter turnout is lower now than in 2012 in most (20) countries. The largest declines are in: Latvia (-14 percentage points, from 89% in 2012 to 75% in 2015); Estonia (-11 points, from 81% to 70%); Slovakia (-9 points, from 81% to 72%); Slovenia (-9 points, from 76% to 67%); the Netherlands (-8 points, from 87% to 79%); the Czech Republic (-8 points, from 80% to 72%); and Cyprus (-8 points, from 78% to 70%).
Electoral Rights Among the seven Member States 15 where respondents are now more likely than they were in 2012 to think that providing such information would improve turnout, shifts are much less marked, with the largest increases in Spain (+5 points, from 84% to 89%) and Romania (+5 points, from 80% to 85%). Looking at the longer-term picture, there are only four Member States showing a consistent trend since 2010 towards thinking that turnout would be higher if more information was provided on the European Parliament elections: Romania (+11 percentage points, from 74% in 2010 to 85% in 2015); Portugal (+6 points, from 83% to 89%); Luxembourg (+5 points, from 78% to 83%); and Hungary (+5 points, from 73% to 78%). Only one Member State, Cyprus, shows a consistent trend since 2010 away from thinking that more information on the European Parliament elections would increase turnout (-9 percentage points, from 79% to 70%, driven almost entirely by the large decline between 2012 and 2015 outlined earlier). In the remaining 22 countries, the pattern of opinion across the three surveys is inconsistent. Differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups are again small. The groups most likely to say that turnout at European elections would be higher if more information was provided on the European Parliament elections are: younger people aged 39 or under: 15-24 year-olds (85%) and 25-39 year-olds (84%), particularly when compared with those aged 55 and over (79%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (84%), compared with those who do not (79%) Q4.1 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? More information was provided on the European Parliament elections (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 82 16 2 Age 15-24 85 12 3 25-39 84 15 1 40-54 80 18 2 55 + 79 18 3 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 84 14 2 No 79 19 2 15 Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK, Luxembourg, Lithuania and Hungary 17
18 Electoral Rights The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that the European Parliament shall endorse or veto the appointment of the President of the European Commission on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council, taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the Treaty on European Union). This provision applied for the first time for the 2014 elections. There are 18 Member States where at least seven in ten respondents think that voter turnout would improve if they received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission. This belief is most widely held among respondents in Portugal (88%) and Spain (88%), followed by those in Ireland (84%), Italy (82%) and Luxembourg (81%). Among the ten Member States 16 where less than seven in ten respondents think that better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission would increase turnout, this view is least widespread in Estonia (54%), Finland (56%) and Denmark (61%). As this is a new question, there is no trend information available. Differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups are again small. The groups most likely to say that turnout at European elections would be higher if they received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission are: women (79%) 15-24 year-olds (84%), and, in line with this, those who are still studying (85%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (81%) 16 Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and Estonia
Electoral Rights Q4.5 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? You received better information about the candidates for President of the European Commission (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 77 20 3 Gender Male 74 23 3 Female 79 18 3 Age 15-24 84 14 2 25-39 79 19 2 40-54 74 24 2 55 + 74 22 4 Education (End of) 15-77 19 4 16-19 77 20 3 20+ 75 23 2 Still studying 85 13 2 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 81 17 2 No 73 24 3 19
20 Electoral Rights In 16 Member States, at least seven in ten respondents think that voter turnout would improve if political parties displayed the European political party they are affiliated with in all campaign materials. Countries where respondents are most likely to hold this view are Spain (80%), Ireland (77%), Sweden (77%), the Netherlands (75%) and the UK (75%). Among the twelve Member States 17 where less than seven in ten respondents think that turnout at European elections would be higher if political parties displayed party affiliations in all campaign materials, this view is least widespread in Cyprus (50%), Estonia (55%) and Slovenia (57%). Q4.4 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout ateuropean elections would be higher if...? Political parties displayed in all campaign materials to which European political party they are affiliated (% - YES) Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 80 77 77 75 75 74 73 73 72 72 74 78 79 79 75 70 71 72 70 69 ES IE SE NL UK PT DE IT LU RO 72 71 70 70 70 70 70 69 69 69 73 74 71 71 66 62 73 69 76 76 EU28 BE AT FI LT MT PL BG FR LV 66 66 65 63 62 61 57 55 50 70 62 66 70 68 60 64 64 EL HU HR DK SK CZ SI EE CY Comparing the results with those from 2012, the proportion of respondents who think that displaying party affiliation in all campaign materials would improve voter turnout has increased in nine Member States 18, declined in 16 countries and stayed the same in two (the UK and Bulgaria). The most notable increases are in Malta (+8 percentage points, from 62% in 2012 to 70% in 2015) and Spain (+6 points, from 74% to 80%). There are six countries showing declines of seven 17 Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus 18 Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Lithuania, Malta and Hungary
Electoral Rights percentage points or more 19, with the largest decreases observed in Cyprus (-14 points, from 64% to 50%), Estonia (-9 points, from 64% to 55%) and Slovakia (-8 points, from 70% to 62%). As seen in relation to all the other measures reported on in this chapter, any differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups are small. The groups most likely to say that displaying party affiliation in all campaign materials would increase turnout at European elections are: 15-24 year-olds (75%), and, in line with this, those who are still studying (75%) those who finished their full-time education aged 16 or over (72%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (75%) Q4.4 In 2014, turnout in the European Parliament elections was 43%. Do you think that turnout at European elections would be higher if...? Political parties displayed in all campaign materials to which European political party they are affiliated (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 72 23 5 Age 15-24 75 20 5 25-39 73 23 4 40-54 72 24 4 55 + 70 22 8 Education (End of) 15-67 24 9 16-19 72 22 6 20+ 72 24 4 Still studying 75 22 3 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 75 20 5 No 69 26 5 19 France, Latvia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Cyprus 21
22 Electoral Rights II. VOTING FOR CANDIDATES IN EUROPEAN AND LOCAL ELECTIONS EU citizens who live in an EU country that is not their country of origin have the choice, in the elections for the European parliament,, between voting in their country of residence and in their country or origin. The first section of this chapter examines Europeans voting preferences in European elections, should they be living in an EU country that is not their country of origin. It then assesses whether Europeans believe that including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries might attract more votes in the European elections and increase the general turnout in local elections. a. Country of residence versus country of origin Europeans have no strong preference for or against voting in European elections in their country of residence or in their country of origin Respondents were asked whether, if they were to live or are living in an EU country other than their country of origin (i.e. where they are a national), they would prefer to vote for the candidates in their country of residence or the candidates in their country of origin in European elections 20. Just over two fifths of respondents (44%) say they would prefer to vote in European elections for the candidates of the country in which they are residing. A similar proportion (45%) would prefer to vote for candidates of their country of origin. One in nine respondents (11%) are unable to say what their voting preference would be in this situation. Q1 A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his\her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for? (% - EU) Nov. 2015 Nov. 2012 Mar. 2010 THE CANDIDATES OF YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE 44 43 48 THE CANDIDATES OF YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN 42 45 46 11 DON'T KNOW 10 11 20 Q1: A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his/her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for : The candidates of your country of residence; The candidates of your country of origin; Don t know Note: In 2010 the question was worded differently: If you lived in another Member State than your Member State of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for
23 Electoral Rights There has been a small shift in the balance of opinion on this measure over time. In 2012, respondents were slightly more likely to say they would prefer voting for the candidates in their country of residence (48%) than candidates in their country of origin (42%). In contrast, in 2010 respondents were slightly more likely to say they preferred to vote for the candidates in their country of origin (46%), compared with candidates in their country of residence (43%). In percentage point terms, however, the changes over time are small no more than four percentage points between 2015 and 2012, and only a difference of one percentage point when comparing the 2015 results with those from 2010. Focusing on the 2015 results, there are only five Member States where the majority of respondents say they would prefer to vote for the candidates in their country of residence: Italy (56%), the Netherlands (55%), Belgium (52%), Luxembourg (52%) and Spain (51%). The countries in which this is least likely to be cited as a preference are Estonia (20%), Finland (23%), Romania (24%) and Lithuania (26%). Q1 A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his\her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for? (% - THE CANDIDATES OF YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE) Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 56 55 52 52 51 50 50 49 49 47 45 58 46 47 42 53 49 52 52 57 49 47 47 55 44 47 42 52 45 54 IT NL BE LU ES FR UK EL HU IE 45 45 44 42 42 38 37 36 35 34 37 42 42 42 43 48 46 48 42 44 31 39 25 33 48 49 41 43 SI SE EU28 CZ SK HR CY BG DE AT 34 33 33 32 31 26 24 23 20 23 35 38 36 35 39 44 51 32 36 18 25 37 29 39 37 35 31 PL LV PT MT DK LT RO FI EE
24 Electoral Rights Comparing the results with those from 2012, the proportion of respondents who say they would rather vote for candidates in the country in which they are living has decreased in 19 Member States, increased in seven 21, and shows no change in one (Luxembourg). Among the 19 countries showing decreases, the most notable decreases are in: Malta (-19 percentage points, from 51% in 2012 to 32% in 2015); Germany (-14 points, from 49% to 35%); Finland (-14 points, from 37% to 23%); Estonia (-11 points, from 31% to 20%); and Austria (-9 points, from 43% to 34%). Among the seven Member States where respondents are now more likely than they were in 2012 to say their voting preference would be for candidates in their country of residence, only one country shows an increase of more than three percentage points: the Netherlands (+8 points, from 47% to 55%). Looking at the longer-term picture, there are five Member States showing a consistent trend since 2010 towards a preference for voting for candidates in their country of residence: Bulgaria (+11 percentage points, from 25% in 2010 to 36% in 2015); the Netherlands (already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall increase of +9 points from 46% in 2010); Slovenia (+8 points, from 37% to 45%); Lithuania (+8 points, from 18% to 26%); and Greece (+5 points, from 44% to 49%). Four Member States show a consistent trend away from a preference for voting for candidates in their country of residence: Finland (already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall decline since 2010 of -16 points from 39%); Estonia (similarly already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall decline of -15 points from 35%); Romania (-13 points, from 37% to 24%); and Latvia (-5 points, from 38% to 33%). In the remaining 18 Member States, the pattern of opinion is inconsistent across the three surveys. Differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups are mostly small. The groups most likely to say that, if they were living in a Member State that was not their own, they would prefer to vote in European elections for the candidates in their country of residence, are more likely to be: people aged 15-54 (ranging from 45%-49% across the three age bands) those who are still studying (50%) and those who completed their full-time education aged 20 or over (46%) employees (48%) 21 The Netherlands, France, Greece, Slovenia, Sweden, Bulgaria and Lithuania
Electoral Rights Q1 A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his\her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for? (% - EU) The candidates of your country of residence EU28 44 Age 15-24 48 25-39 49 40-54 45 55 + 38 Education (End of) 15-37 16-19 42 20+ 46 Still studying 50 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 43 Employee 48 Manual workers 40 Not working 41 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to Yes, agree 50 No 40 25
26 Electoral Rights The next chart shows the proportions of respondents saying that, if they were living in a Member State that was not their own, they would prefer to vote for the candidates in their country of origin in European elections. As would be expected, the differences here are generally the reverse of those seen in relation to preference for voting in the country of residence. There are 13 Member States where the majority of respondents say that, if they were living in a Member State that was not their own, they would prefer to vote for the candidates in their country of origin in European elections. This view is most widespread in Romania (70%), Finland (69%), Estonia (67%) and Lithuania (63%). It is least likely to be cited as the preference of respondents in the Netherlands (34%), the UK (36%), Italy (38%), Luxembourg (39%) and Spain (39%). Q1 A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his\her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for? (% - THE CANDIDATES OF YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN) Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 70 69 67 63 59 58 57 57 55 55 51 66 57 58 54 49 67 65 49 43 64 61 56 58 58 52 49 53 RO FI EE LT MT BG PT HR DK LV 55 53 52 49 47 47 47 47 46 46 61 55 61 55 39 32 48 40 45 40 37 29 53 48 45 48 52 39 56 48 PL CY AT IE CZ DE EL SK HU SI 45 44 44 41 39 39 38 36 34 46 42 43 48 47 48 43 37 41 40 41 38 48 34 43 38 43 41 EU28 FR SE BE LU ES IT UK NL Comparing the results with those from 2012, the proportion of respondents who say they would rather vote for candidates in their country of origin has increased in 14 Member States, decreased in 12, and shows no change in one (Poland). Among the 14 countries showing increases, five show an increase of more than ten percentage points: Austria (+20 points, from 32% in 2012 to 52% in 2015); Estonia (+18 points, from 49% to 67%); Germany (+18 points, from 29% to 47%); Malta (+16 points, from 43% to 59%); and Finland (+11 points, from 58% to 69%).
27 Electoral Rights Among the 12 Member States where respondents are now less likely than they were in 2012 to say their voting preference would be for candidates in their country of origin, only one country shows a decrease of more than four percentage points the Netherlands (-7 points, from 41% to 34%). Looking at the longer-term picture, there are three Member States showing a consistent trend since 2010 towards a preference for voting for candidates in their country of origin: Romania (+19 percentage points, from 51% in 2010 to 70% in 2015); Finland (+12 points, from 57% to 69%); and Latvia (+6 points, from 49% to 55%). There are eight Member States showing a consistent trend away from this preference 22, the most notable declines being in Slovenia (-10 points, from 56% to 46%); the Netherlands (already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall decrease of -9 points, from 43% to 34%); Cyprus (-8 points, from 61% to 53%); the UK (-7 points, from 43% to 36%); Bulgaria (-6 points, from 64% to 58%); and Greece (-6 points, from 53% to 47%). In the remaining 16 Member States, there is no consistent pattern of opinion across the three surveys. In terms of socio-demographic and key variable groups, respondents who would prefer to vote for candidates in their country of origin are more likely to be: people aged 55 and over (51%) those who completed their full-time education aged 15 or under (52%) manual workers (50%) and those not working (48%) 22 Lithuania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, Luxembourg, the UK and the Netherlands
Electoral Rights Q1 A citizen of the EU living in another EU country than his or her country of origin has the right to vote in European Parliament elections in his\her country of residence. If you are living or were to live in another EU country than your country of origin (i.e. of which you are a national) would you rather vote in European elections for? (% - EU) The candidates of your country of origin EU28 45 Age 15-24 41 25-39 40 40-54 45 55 + 51 Education (End of) 15-52 16-19 47 20+ 44 Still studying 41 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 46 Employee 42 Manual workers 50 Not working 48 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to Yes, agree 40 No 51 28
29 Electoral Rights b. Non-national EU citizens as candidates in European elections Respondents were asked if they thought that including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries on a list of candidates in the European parliament elections could attract more votes 23. A slight majority of Europeans think that including nationals from other EU countries on a candidate list could attract more voters in a European election Around half of respondents (51%) think that including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries on a list of candidates in the European elections can attract more votes. Around one in nine (11%) say it would definitely attract more votes, with most (40%) thinking it would probably do so. Just over two fifths of respondents (43%) do not think that including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries would attract more votes, with most (28%) saying this would probably not increase votes in European elections, and one in seven (15%) that it would definitely not do so. Q2 Do you think that a list of candidates in the European elections can attract more votes if it includes candidates who are nationals of other EU countries? (% - EU) Nov. 2015 Nov. 2012 Mar. 2010 51 TOTAL 'YES' 50 42 43 TOTAL 'NO' 44 47 6 DON'T KNOW 6 11 The results are very similar to those in 2012. There has been a very small increase in the proportion who think including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries would attract more votes (+1 percentage point), driven by an increase in the proportion saying it would probably do so (+2 points) and a small drop in the proportion thinking this would definitely attract more votes (-1 point). The overall proportion who think that including such candidates could boost votes in European elections is now at its highest level and notably larger than that recorded in 2010 (+9 points). 23 Q2: Do you think that a list of candidates in the European elections can attract more votes if it includes candidates who are nationals of other EU countries?. Yes, definitely; Yes, probably; No, probably not; No, definitely not; Don t know/na Note: In 2010 the answer categories were: Yes; No; DK/NA
44 44 41 38 38 37 35 34 31 30 Electoral Rights Focusing on 2015, there are 13 Member States where a majority of respondents think that including non-national EU candidates in the lists for European elections could attract more votes. Respondents in Belgium and Portugal are the most likely to think this (both 63%), closely followed by those in Ireland (62%) and Luxembourg (62%). Indeed, one in five respondents in Portugal (20%) say that involving non-national EU candidates could definitely attract more votes, the highest proportion of any Member State and notably above the EU average (11%). Countries where respondents are least likely to think the presence of non-national candidates in the lists would increase the votes are Denmark (31%), Estonia (34%) and Finland (35%). In Denmark and Estonia, more than one in five respondents think that their inclusion would definitely not attract more votes (23% and 22% respectively). Other countries where this proportion is also notably above the EU average (15%) include Malta (29%), Slovenia (27%), Bulgaria (24%) and Romania (23%). Four Member States show a notably high proportion of respondents who are not able to express an opinion on this measure, compared with the EU average of 6%: Estonia (15%); Denmark (14%); Malta (13%) and Slovakia (12%). Q2 Do you think that a list of candidates in the European elections can attract more votes if it includes candidates who are nationals of other EU countries? (% - TOTAL 'YES') Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 63 63 62 62 56 54 53 53 53 53 37 58 52 54 64 64 57 60 41 52 51 52 34 45 50 55 30 49 BE PT IE LU IT ES AT FR RO HR 52 52 52 51 50 49 48 48 48 45 35 45 48 54 52 55 42 50 27 44 33 49 39 52 39 46 39 54 35 43 DE EL UK EU28 HU BG LV NL SK SE 30 42 35 35 38 48 39 42 39 41 34 40 29 34 28 39 24 30 CZ LT PL CY SI MT FI EE DK
31 Electoral Rights Shifts in opinion since 2012 are, for the most part, small. There are 15 Member States 24 showing an increase in the proportion who think that including nationals of other EU countries could attract more votes, with the largest increases in Portugal (+9 percentage points, from 54% in 2012 to 63% in 2015), Lithuania (+9 points, from 35% to 44%), Austria (+8 points, from 45% to 53%) and Germany (+7 points, from 45% to 52%). Among the 11 Member States showing a drop in the proportion of respondents thinking that the inclusion of non-national EU citizens could attract more votes in European elections, the most notable declines are in Poland (-7 points, from 48% to 41%) and Slovakia (-6 points, from 54% to 48%). In the one remaining Member State, Bulgaria, there has been no change between 2012 and 2015. Looking at the longer-term picture, 14 Member States 25 show a consistent trend since 2010 towards respondents thinking that including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries in the list for European elections could attract more votes. Among these, the most notable shifts are in: Belgium (+26 percentage points, from 37% in 2010 to 63% in 2015); Romania (+23 points, from 30% to 53%); Hungary (+23 points, from 27% to 50%); Austria (already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall increase of +19 points, from 34% to 53%); Germany (also already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall increase of +17 points, from 35% to 52%); Bulgaria (+16 points, from 33% to 49%); and Italy (+15 points, from 41% to 56%). No countries show a consistent trend away from thinking that the inclusion of such candidates could attract more votes, with the remaining 13 countries showing no consistent pattern. Focusing on differences between socio-demographic and key variable groups, respondents who think that the inclusion of nationals of other EU countries on a list of candidates in the European elections could attract more votes are more likely to be: younger people aged 39 or under, particularly those aged 15-24 (63%) and, in line with this, those who are still studying (65%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (60%) people who hold a preference for voting for candidates in their country of residence (57%) 24 Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Austria, Romania, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Finland and Denmark 25 Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Austria, Romania, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland and Denmark
Electoral Rights Q2 Do you think that a list of candidates in the European elections can attract more votes if it includes candidates who are nationals of other EU countries? (% - EU) Total 'Yes' Total 'No' Don't know EU28 51 43 6 Age 15-24 63 34 3 25-39 55 40 5 40-54 50 44 6 55 + 45 46 9 Education (End of) 15-48 42 10 16-19 53 40 7 20+ 49 46 5 Still studying 65 32 3 EP elections: will rather vote for candidate of Country of residence 57 38 5 Country of origin 48 46 6 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 60 35 5 No 43 51 6 32
33 Electoral Rights c. Non-national EU citizens as candidates in local elections In a similar question, respondents were asked if they thought the inclusion of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries could increase the general turnout in local elections 26. Just under half of all Europeans think that the inclusion of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries could increase turnout in local elections Q3 Do you think that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout in local elections? (% - EU) Nov. 2015 Nov. 2012 Mar. 2010 43 TOTAL 'YES' 46 30 52 TOTAL 'NO' 50 63 5 DON'T KNOW 4 7 Just over two fifths of respondents (43%) think that the inclusion of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries could increase local election turnout. Only one in ten (10%) say it would definitely increase the general turnout, with most (33%) thinking it would probably do so. A slight majority of respondents (52%) do not think that including these candidates could increase the general turnout, with most (34%) saying it would probably not increase the turnout in local elections and around a fifth (18%) saying that it would definitely not do so. The results are broadly similar to those in 2012. There has been a small drop in the proportion who think including candidates who are nationals of other EU countries could improve turnout (-3 percentage points), driven by a decrease in the proportion saying it would definitely not do so (-3 points). That said, the overall proportion now thinking that including such candidates could increase turnout in European elections remains much higher than the level recorded in 2010 (+13 points). Focusing on 2015, there are only eight Member States 27 where a majority of respondents think that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout 26 Q3: Do you think that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout in local elections?.yes, definitely; Yes, probably; No, probably not; No, definitely not; Don t know/na Note: In 2010 the answer categories were: Yes; No; DK/NA 27 Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Greece
34 Electoral Rights in local elections. Reflecting some of the earlier findings, in all but one of these eight 28, a majority also think that the inclusion of such candidates could attract more votes in the European elections. The countries where respondents are most likely to think that including such candidates can improve the turnout in local elections are Luxembourg (60%), Belgium (59%) and Portugal (56%). Again, reflecting earlier findings, around one in six respondents in Portugal (16%) say that involving nonnational EU candidates could definitely increase turnout. Other countries where this proportion is notably higher than the EU average (10%) include Romania (19%), Greece (18%), Bulgaria (18%) and Italy (16%). As seen in relation to views about European elections, the countries where respondents are least likely to think the presence of non-national candidates in the lists would increase turnout in local elections are Finland (15%), Denmark (21%) and Estonia (25%), joined, on this measure, by Slovenia (20%). At least one in three respondents in each of these countries say that their inclusion would definitely not increase turnout, with the highest proportion of any Member State in Slovenia (40%). Other countries where this proportion is notably higher than the EU average (18%) include Malta (32%), Hungary (31%) and Bulgaria (28%). 28 Latvia
35 Electoral Rights Q3 Do you think that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout in local elections? (% - TOTAL 'YES') Mar. 2010 Nov. 2012 Nov. 2015 60 59 56 54 52 52 52 51 49 48 51 58 26 49 45 55 25 50 54 61 28 49 28 55 33 50 30 45 LU BE PT RO IE IT LV EL HR CY 48 48 46 45 43 43 42 42 41 38 24 48 41 41 39 53 29 36 21 48 30 46 34 48 31 32 27 37 29 32 NL ES UK LT BG EU28 FR SK CZ MT 38 37 36 35 35 25 50 24 40 19 32 22 35 27 44 26 31 18 21 19 21 21 20 25 21 20 15 PL SE HU AT DE EE DK SI FI Shifts in opinion since 2012 are, for the most part, small. There are 13 Member States 29 showing an increase in the proportion who think that including nationals of other EU countries could increase the general turnout at local elections, with the largest increases in Belgium (+10 percentage points, from 49% in 2012 to 59% in 2015), Slovakia (+10 points, from 32% to 42%), Lithuania (+9 points, from 36% to 45%) and Spain (+7 points, from 41% to 48%). Among the 11 Member States 30 showing a drop in the proportion of respondents thinking that the inclusion of non-national EU citizens could improve turnout at local elections, the most notable declines are in Poland (-12 percentage points, from 50% to 38%), Ireland (-9 points, from 61% to 52%), Germany (-9 points, from 44% to 35%) and the UK (-7 points, from 53% to 46%). In the remaining three Member States (the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark) there has been no change. 29 Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary and Slovakia 30 Latvia, Ireland, the UK, France, Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Estonia, Slovenia and Finland
36 Electoral Rights Looking at the longer-term picture, 11 Member States 31 show a consistent trend since 2010 towards respondents thinking that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries could increase the general turnout in local elections. Among these, the most notable shifts are in: Belgium (+33 percentage points, from 26% in 2010 to 59% in 2015); Romania (+29 points, from 25% to 54%); Italy (+24 points, from 28% to 52%); Cyprus (+18 points, from 30% to 48%); Greece (+18 points, from 33% to 51%), Hungary (+17 points, from 19% to 36%); and Lithuania (already mentioned in the context of a notable change between 2012 and 2015, with an overall increase of +16 points, from 29% to 45%). The remaining five Member States show increases of at least nine percentage points. Only one country, Finland, shows a consistent trend away from thinking that the inclusion of such candidates could improve turnout (-6 points, from 21% to 15%), with the remaining 15 countries showing no consistent pattern. Reflecting some of the earlier findings in this section of the report, respondents who say that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout in local elections are more likely to be: younger people aged 39 or under, particularly those aged 15-24 (56%) and, in line with this, those who are still studying (54%) people who think that EU citizens living in another EU country should have the right to stand for executive office (52%) people who hold a preference for voting for candidates in their country of residence (49%) 31 Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Malta and Hungary
Electoral Rights Q3 Do you think that the presence of candidates who are nationals of other EU countries can increase the general turnout in local elections? (% - EU) Total 'Yes' Total 'No' Don't know EU28 43 52 5 Age 15-24 56 41 3 25-39 49 47 4 40-54 40 56 4 55 + 38 56 6 Education (End of) 15-42 52 6 16-19 44 51 5 20+ 41 55 4 Still studying 54 43 3 EP elections: will rather vote for candidate of Country of residence 49 48 3 Country of origin 41 55 4 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 52 44 4 No 35 61 4 37
38 Electoral Rights III. THE RIGHT TO STAND AS A CANDIDATE FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICES A POSSIBLE EXTENSION OF THE ELECTORAL RIGHTS OF NON-NATIONAL EU CITIZENS EU citizens living in an EU country that is not their country of origin have the right to stand as candidates in municipal elections in the country of residence, but EU law allows the EU countries to exclude non-nationals from certain executive offices. This chapter examines whether Europeans think that non-national EU citizens should also have the right to stand as a candidate for executive offices (with the exception of mayor). The interviewer explained to the respondent that EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to stand as candidates in municipal elections, but are excluded from certain executive offices where only nationals of the country may run as candidates. The interviewer then asked the respondent if they agreed that citizens from other EU countries should also have the right to stand for these offices (except the office of mayor). This question is new to the 2015 survey. There is no strong preference for or against non-national citizens should have the right to stand as candidates for executive offices Q5 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to stand as candidates in municipal elections but are excluded from certain executive offices where only nationals of the country may run as candidates. Do you agree that citizens from other EU countries should also have the right to stand for these offices (except the office of mayor)? (% - EU) Don't know 5 No 48 Yes 47 Almost half of respondents (47%) agree that citizens from other EU countries should be able to stand as candidates for certain executive offices, currently open only to nationals in some EU countries. A similar proportion (48%) do not agree that they should be able to do so. Only a small minority (5%) are unable to give an opinion.
39 Electoral Rights There are only six countries where the absolute majority of respondents think that EU citizens who are residing in a Member State that is not their own should have the right to stand for certain executive offices: Ireland (59%), Portugal (55%), Spain (55%), Italy (54%), Luxembourg (54%) and Germany (52%). There are 16 Member States 32 where the absolute majority believe that such citizens should not be allowed to have this right, with the highest proportions in Hungary (70%), Latvia (69%), Sweden (65%), Denmark (62%), Finland (62%) and Slovenia (60%). In the six remaining Member States, where neither view is held by an absolute majority: the balance of opinion is slightly in favour of non-national citizens having this right in: Belgium (50% say yes; 47% say no) and Cyprus (50% say yes; 48% say no) the balance of opinion slightly favours the view that such EU citizens should not have this right in: Romania (50% say no; 46% say yes); Estonia (48% say no; 44% say yes) and the UK (46% say no; 43% say yes) opinion is evenly divided in Austria (49% say yes; 49% say no) Focusing on differences in opinion among socio-demographic and key variable groups, respondents who agree that EU citizens who are living in an EU country that is not their country of origin should have the right to stand for certain executive offices are more likely to be: younger people aged 39 or under, particularly those aged 15-24 (54%) and, in line with this, those who are still studying (57%) those who completed their full-time education aged 20 or over (49%) 32 Poland, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Malta, Slovenia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Sweden and Hungary
Electoral Rights Q5 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to stand as candidates in municipal elections but are excluded from certain executive offices where only nationals of the country may run as candidates. Do you agree that citizens from other EU countries should also have the right to stand for these offices (except the office of mayor)? (% - EU) Yes No Don't know EU28 47 48 5 Age 15-24 54 43 3 25-39 51 45 4 40-54 45 50 5 55 + 43 51 6 Education (End of) 15-41 54 5 16-19 44 51 5 20+ 49 47 4 Still studying 57 40 3 EP elections: will rather vote for candidate of Country of residence 53 43 4 Country of origin 42 55 3 40
41 Electoral Rights IV. MEANS FOR IMPROVING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF NON-NATIONAL EU CITIZENS This chapter focuses on Europeans perceptions of what might make voting in European and local elections easier for non-national EU citizens, firstly when voting in their country of residence, and secondly when voting in their country of origin. a. Facilitating the right to vote in the country of residence The interviewer explained to the respondent that EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European and local elections in that country. The respondent was then asked, if they were living in an EU country other than their country of origin, to what extent they agreed or disagreed that certain practices and procedures would make it easier for them to vote in elections there. The practices/procedures that were outlined are: Receiving individual letters explaining how to register and vote Automatic registration on the electoral roll as a result of registering as a resident An on-line process for registering on the electoral roll Being able to vote electronically or online Being able to vote by post Europeans are most likely to think that individual letters outlining how to register and vote, and automatic registration on the electoral roll, would make voting in elections in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens
42 Electoral Rights Four in five respondents (80%) agree that it would be easier for non-national EU citizens to vote in their country of residence if they received individual letters outlining how to register and vote, with just under two in five (39%) saying that they strongly agree. One in six respondents (17%) disagree, evenly divided between those who strongly disagree (8%) and those who tend to disagree (9%). A similar proportion (79%) agree that automatic registration on the electoral roll as a result of registering as a resident would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens. Just over two fifths of respondents (43%) strongly agree, with around one in three (36%) saying they tend to agree. Around one in five respondents (18%) disagree that this would make voting easier, with 8% strongly disagreeing. Around seven in ten respondents (69%) agree that an online process for registering on the electoral roll would make it easier for non-national citizens to vote in their country of residence. Around two in five respondents (38%) strongly agree, with a smaller proportion tending to agree (31%). More than a quarter of respondents (28%) disagree that this would make voting easier, evenly divided between those who strongly disagree and those who tend to disagree (both 14%). Around two thirds of respondents (67%) agree that the ability to vote electronically or online would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens. Although this proportion is lower than for three of the five measures, the proportion of respondents who strongly agree (44%) is the highest for any of the measures. Just under a third of respondents disagree (31%) that the ability to vote electronically or online would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens, with most (19%) strongly disagreeing. Around three in five respondents (62%) agree that the ability to vote by post would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens, with a third (33%) saying that they strongly agree. A little over a third of respondents (36%) disagree that voting by post would make the process easier, with one in five strongly disagreeing (20%). Each of these practices/procedures will be considered in more detail in the remainder of this chapter.
43 Electoral Rights Looking at the national picture, the majority of respondents across all Member States agree that receiving individual letters would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. In almost all Member States (26), at least seven in ten respondents think that receiving individual letters outlining the voting process would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. Respondents living in Ireland are the most likely to agree (91%), followed by those in Spain (89%). In both of these countries at least half of respondents strongly agree that receiving such letters would make voting easier (52% in Ireland and 50% in Spain). Other countries where a majority also strongly agree that this would make voting easier include Malta (59%), Portugal (55%) and Romania (54%). The two countries where less than seven in ten respondents think that individual letters would make voting easier are Slovenia (59%) and Slovakia (67%). Indeed, around one in five respondents in Slovenia (19%) strongly disagree that getting such letters would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in their country of residence, the highest proportion of any Member State. Other countries where this proportion is notably higher than the EU average (8%) include Bulgaria (17%), Romania (13%) and Greece (13%). In terms of differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups, those most likely to agree that individual letters explaining how to register and vote would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence are: people aged 39 and under (86% among both 15-24 year-olds and 25-39 year-olds) those who are still studying (85%) and those who finished their full-time education at a later age aged 20 or over (83%) and aged 16-19 (80%)
Electoral Rights Q6.1 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European or local elections in that country. If you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections there? Receiving individual letters explaining how to reg ister and vote (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 80 17 3 Age 15-24 86 13 1 25-39 86 13 1 40-54 82 16 2 55 + 74 21 5 Education (End of) 15-69 25 6 16-19 80 17 3 20+ 83 15 2 Still studying 85 14 1 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 88 10 2 No 75 23 2 44
45 Electoral Rights The majority of respondents across all Member States also agree that automatic registration on the electoral roll as a result of registering as a resident would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. Again, in almost all Member States (25) at least seven in ten respondents agree that automatic registration on the electoral roll as a result of registering as a resident would make it easier for nonnationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. Among these countries this view is most widespread in Ireland (90%) and Spain (89%), reflecting the findings outlined earlier in relation to views about the helpfulness of individual letters. Ireland (but not Spain this time) also has a majority of respondents who strongly agree that automatic registration would make voting easier (58%). Again, reflecting the earlier findings, a majority also strongly agree that this would be the case in Malta (59%), Portugal (58%) and Romania (56%), joined on this occasion by Greece (56%). Similarly, the three countries where less than seven in ten respondents think that automatic registration on the electoral roll would make voting easier include, once again, Slovakia (66%) and Slovenia (67%), joined on this occasion by Estonia (68%). As seen in relation to the first measure, Slovenia has a particularly high proportion of respondents who strongly disagree (14%), with this proportion also notably high in Bulgaria (15%), France (14%) and Cyprus (14%), compared with the EU average (8%). Looking at differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups, those most likely to agree that automatic registration on the electoral roll following registration as a resident would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens are: people under the age of 55 (ranging from 81%-84% across the three age bands) those who finished their full-time education at a later age: aged 20 or over (82%) and aged 16-19 (80%), and those still studying (79%) people who work (ranging from 82%-83% across the three occupational groups)
Electoral Rights Q6.2 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European or local elections in that country. If you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections there? Automatic reg istration on the electoral roll as a result of reg istering as a resident (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 79 18 3 Age 15-24 81 17 2 25-39 84 14 2 40-54 82 15 3 55 + 74 20 6 Education (End of) 15-70 23 7 16-19 80 17 3 20+ 82 15 3 Still studying 79 19 2 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 82 15 3 Employee 83 15 2 Manual workers 82 16 2 Not working 75 20 5 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 86 11 3 No 74 23 3 46
47 Electoral Rights The majority of respondents across all Member States also agree that an online process for registering on the electoral roll would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. In 20 Member States, at least seven in ten respondents agree that an online process for registering on the electoral roll would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. This view is again most widespread in Ireland (82%), followed, in this case, by the UK (81%) and Latvia (81%). Reflecting the earlier findings, a majority strongly agree that this process would make voting easier in Malta (57%), Romania (55%), Portugal (52%), Ireland (52%), Greece (52%) and Spain (51%), joined on this measure by Cyprus (53%). Among the eight Member States 33 where less than seven in ten respondents agree that an online process for registering on the electoral roll would make voting easier, this view is least widespread in Germany (55%) and Austria (58%). As seen in relation to the measures already reported on in this chapter, Slovenia has a particularly high proportion of respondents who strongly disagree (20%), with this proportion also notably high in France (20%), compared with the EU average (14%). Focusing on differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups, those most likely to agree that an online process for registering on the electoral roll would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens are: men (72%) people under the age of 40: 15-24 year-olds (78%) and 25-39 year-olds (80%) those who are still studying (77%) and those who finished their full-time education aged 20 or over (75%) people who are self-employed (76%) and employees (76%) 33 Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, France, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and Germany
Electoral Rights Q6.3 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European or local elections in that country. If you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections there? An on-line process for reg istering on the electoral roll (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 69 28 3 Gender Male 72 25 3 Female 67 29 4 Age 15-24 78 21 1 25-39 80 19 1 40-54 71 27 2 55 + 57 36 7 Education (End of) 15-54 37 9 16-19 66 30 4 20+ 75 23 2 Still studying 77 22 1 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 76 21 3 Employee 76 23 1 Manual workers 70 28 2 Not working 63 32 5 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 76 21 3 No 64 33 3 48
49 Electoral Rights Across all Member States, the majority of respondents also think that being able to vote electronically or online would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. There are fewer similarities between this measure and those already outlined in this chapter. There are 18 Member States where at least seven in ten respondents agree that having the ability to vote electronically or online would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence, with this view most widespread in Finland (83%), Denmark (81%), Estonia (80%), Lithuania (80%) and Sweden (80%). In all five countries, the majority of respondents strongly agree that this would help, with the highest proportions in Estonia (64%), Sweden (62%), Denmark (60%) and Lithuania (58%). There are a further ten Member States 34 where at least half of respondents strongly agree that being able to vote electronically or online would make voting easier, with the highest proportions in Malta (61%), Bulgaria (59%), Romania (58%) and Portugal (57%) all countries which have notably high proportions strongly agreeing that some of the other processes/procedures already outlined would make voting easier. Among the ten Member States 35 where less than seven in ten respondents think that being able to vote electronically or online would make voting easier, this view is least widespread in France (52%) and Austria (53%). As seen in relation to opinions about an online process for registering on the electoral roll, a notably high proportion of respondents in France also strongly disagree that being able to vote electronically or online would make voting easier (32%), much higher than the EU average (19%). Looking at differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups, those most likely to agree that being able to vote electronically or online would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens are: people under the age of 40: 15-24 year-olds (75%) and 25-39 year-olds (76%) those who are studying (73%) and those who finished their full-time education aged 20 or over (71%) people who work (ranging from 69%-74% across the three occupational groups) 34 Portugal, Slovakia, the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, Romania and Greece 35 Romania, Croatia, Greece, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria and France
Electoral Rights Q6.4 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European or local elections in that country. If you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections there? Being able to vote electronically or online (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 67 31 2 Age 15-24 75 24 1 25-39 76 23 1 40-54 69 29 2 55 + 55 40 5 Education (End of) 15-51 44 5 16-19 65 33 2 20+ 71 27 2 Still studying 73 26 1 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 70 29 1 Employee 74 25 1 Manual workers 69 29 2 Not working 60 36 4 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 72 26 2 No 62 36 2 50
51 Electoral Rights There are 18 Member States where at least half of respondents think that being able to vote by post would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence. This is in contrast with the results for each of the previous measures, where a majority of respondents in all countries feel that the measures presented would make voting for non-nationals easier. There are only six Member States where at least seven in ten respondents agree that being able to vote by post would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in elections in their country of residence: Spain (88%); Germany (84%); Sweden (81%); Luxembourg (81%); Austria (80%); and the UK (78%). In three of these countries, at least half of respondents strongly agree that being able to vote by post would make voting easier (62% in Spain, 54% in Germany and 53% in Sweden) the highest proportions of any Member State. Among the ten Member States 36 where less than half of respondents think that this practice would make voting easier, the view is least widespread in Estonia (31%), Cyprus (31%), Bulgaria (31%), Malta (32%) and Italy (36%). These countries have an exceptionally high proportion of respondents saying they strongly disagree that voting by post would make it easier for non-nationals to vote in their country of residence: Malta (52%); Bulgaria (50%); Cyprus (45%); Italy (44%); and Estonia (36%). Other countries where this proportion is notably higher than the EU average (20%) include Romania (45%), Greece (37%) and Croatia (35%). 36 Greece, Croatia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Italy, Malta, Estonia, Cyprus and Bulgaria
Electoral Rights There are fewer differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups, compared with those seen in relation to the other practices/procedures already reported on. Those most likely to agree that being able to vote by post would make voting in the country of residence easier for non-national citizens are people who work, particularly the self-employed (64%) and employees (64%). Q6.5 EU citizens living in another EU country have the right to vote in European or local elections in that country. If you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections there? Being able to vote by post (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 62 36 2 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 64 35 1 Employee 64 35 1 Manual workers 55 43 2 Not working 61 37 2 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 66 33 1 No 58 41 1 52
53 Electoral Rights b. Facilitating the right to vote in the country of origin Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that certain practices would make it easier for them to vote in elections in their country of origin if they were living in another EU country. The measures outlined were the ability to vote by post the ability to vote electronically or online, and the ability to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin. This question is new to the 2015 survey. The majority of Europeans think that the ability to vote by post, electronically or online, and in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin, would make voting in elections in the country of origin easier for non-national citizens Three quarters of respondents (74%) agree that, if they lived in another EU country, it would be easier for them to vote in elections taking place in the country of their nationality if they were able to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin. More than two in five respondents (44%) strongly agree that this would be the case. A quarter of respondents (24%) disagree that this would make voting in elections taking place in their country of origin easier, with one in ten (10%) saying they strongly disagree. A slightly smaller proportion (71%) think that having the ability to vote electronically or online would make it easier for them to vote in elections taking place in their country of origin, although a somewhat higher proportion (50%) strongly agree that this would help. Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) disagree that being able to vote electronically or online would make it easier for them to vote, with most (17%) saying they strongly disagree. Around two thirds of respondents (68%) agree that being able to vote by post would make it easier for them to vote in elections in their country of origin, with most (39%) saying they strongly agree. Three in ten respondents (30%) disagree that this would make it easier for them to vote, with just over half of these respondents (17%) saying they strongly disagree. Opinions about each of these measures are now examined in more detail.
54 Electoral Rights The majority of respondents across all Member States think that, if they resided in a Member State that was not their own, the ability to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin would make voting in elections taking place in their country of origin easier. There are 19 Member States where at least seven in ten respondents agree that being able to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin would make voting in their country of origin easier, with this view most widespread in Spain (87%) and Portugal (87%), followed by Romania (82%), Poland (82%), Malta (81%) and Hungary (80%). In all but one of these six countries (Poland), a majority strongly agree, with the highest proportions in Romania (69%), Malta (68%) and Portugal (66%). Greece is the only other Member State with a majority strongly agreeing that this option would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier (57%). Among the nine Member States 37 where less than seven in ten respondents think that the ability to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country of origin would make voting easier, this view is least widespread in Denmark (58%), the Netherlands (59%), Finland (60%) and Germany (61%). There are four countries with a notably high proportion of respondents saying they strongly disagree, compared with the EU average (10%): Slovenia (17%); Cyprus (16%); the Netherlands (16%); and Lithuania (15%). Socio-demographic and key variable analysis shows very few notable differences in opinion between groups. Those most likely to agree that, if they resided in a Member State that was not their own, being able to vote in the embassy or consulate of their country would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier are people aged 39 or under: 15-24 year-olds (81%), and, in line with this, those who are still studying (79%), along with 25-39 year-olds (77%). 37 The Czech Republic, Austria, the UK, Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark
Electoral Rights Q7.3 And if you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections in the country of your nationality? Being able to vote in the embassy or consulate of your country of origin (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 74 24 2 Age 15-24 81 17 2 25-39 77 22 1 40-54 71 27 2 55 + 70 26 4 Education (End of) 15-72 23 5 16-19 75 22 3 20+ 72 27 1 Still studying 79 19 2 55
56 Electoral Rights The majority of respondents across all Member States also agree that, if they resided in a Member State that was not their own, being able to vote electronically or online would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier. In most Member States (21), at least seven in ten respondents agree that being able to vote electronically or online would make it easier to vote in their country of origin. Among these countries, the view is most widespread in Finland (86%), Denmark (85%), Sweden (85%), Latvia (85%) and Lithuania (84%). Indeed, over seven in ten respondents in Sweden (72%) and Denmark (71%), around two thirds in Lithuania (65%), and around six in ten in Finland (62%) and Latvia (59%) say they strongly agree. There are a further 14 Member States 38 where a majority hold this strong view, with the highest proportions in Estonia (66%), Portugal (64%), Ireland (64%) and Malta (63%). Among the seven Member States 39 where less than seven in ten respondents think that the ability to vote electronically or online would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier, this view is least widespread in Austria (60%), Hungary (62%), France (62%), Germany (63%) and Italy (64%). There are three countries with a notably high proportion of respondents saying they strongly disagree that this would make voting easier, compared with the EU average (17%): France (26%); Italy (24%); and Hungary (23%). There are more differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups on this measure, compared with those seen in relation to views about voting in the embassy or consulate of the country of origin. Those most likely to agree that, if they resided in a Member State that was not their own, having the ability to vote electronically or online would make voting easier are: people aged 39 and under: 15-24 year-olds (83%) and, in line with this, those who are still studying (82%), and 25-39 year-olds (80%) those who finished their full-time education aged 20 or over (75%) employees (78%) and those who are self-employed (75%) 38 Estonia, Portugal, Slovakia, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Poland, Cyprus, Malta, Belgium, Spain, Romania and Greece 39 Croatia, Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, Hungary, France and Austria
Electoral Rights Q7.2 And if you were living in another EU country than your country of origin, to what extent do you agree or disagree that each of the following would make it easier for you to vote in elections in the country of your nationality? Being able to vote electronically or online (% - EU) Total 'Agree' Total 'Disagree' Don't know EU28 71 27 2 Age 15-24 83 17 0 25-39 80 19 1 40-54 74 24 2 55 + 59 37 4 Education (End of) 15-56 39 5 16-19 69 29 2 20+ 75 23 2 Still studying 82 18 0 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 75 24 1 Employee 78 21 1 Manual workers 72 26 2 Not working 66 31 3 EU citizens right to stand as candidates to executive offices Yes, agree 76 22 2 No 68 30 2 57
58 Electoral Rights In most Member States (23), the majority of respondents agree that, if they resided in a Member State that was not their own, being able to vote by post would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier. There are only ten Member States 40 where at least seven in ten respondents agree that this practice would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier, with this view most widespread in Spain (91%), followed by Luxembourg (85%), Germany (84%), Austria (84%) and Sweden (82%). In each of these countries, the majority of respondents strongly agree, with the highest proportions in Spain (69%) and Sweden (59%). There is only one other Member State, Denmark, where this strong view is held by a majority (51%). Among the 18 Member States where less than seven in ten respondents think that being able to vote by post would make voting in elections in their country of origin easier, this view is least widespread in Cyprus (35%), Estonia (36%), Malta (39%), Bulgaria (41%) and Italy (45%), the only Member States where this is a minority view. In all of these countries, a notably high proportion of respondents a third or more say they strongly disagree, with the highest proportions in Malta (50%), Bulgaria (44%) and Cyprus (44%). There are three other countries with notably high proportions holding this strong view, compared with the EU average (17%): Romania (39%); Estonia (38%); and Italy (36%). Socio-demographic and key variable analysis shows no notable differences in opinion between groups. 40 Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Lithuania
59 Electoral Rights V. LEVEL OF CONCERN OF EU CITIZENS TOWARDS ELECTRONIC, ONLINE AND POSTAL VOTING The final section of the report looks at how concerned Europeans would be about certain risks associated with voting electronically, online or by post. Respondents were asked how concerned they would be, if they were able to vote electronically, online or by post, about a number of possible problems: potential fraud; secrecy of the vote; voters being influenced by others; and the system maybe being difficult to use for certain people, such as those with disabilities and older people. Europeans main concerns about an electronic, online or postal system of voting are the difficulties some people might have using the system, and potential fraud Around seven in ten respondents (69%) say they would be concerned, if they were able to vote electronically, online or by post, about the system being difficult for some people to use. Around three in ten respondents (31%) say they would be very concerned. Among those respondents (29%) who say they would not be concerned that the system might be difficult for certain people to use, most (18% of all respondents) say they would be not very rather than not at all concerned. Around six in ten respondents (61%) would have concerns about potential fraud, with just under three in ten (28%) very concerned. Among those respondents (37%) who would not be concerned, most (24% of all respondents) say they would be not very rather than not at all concerned. Respondents are more evenly divided on concerns they might have about the secrecy of the vote. Just over half of respondents (52%) say they would be concerned, with around one in four (23%) very concerned. Just under half of respondents (46%) would not be concerned about secrecy of the vote, with one in five (21%) not at all concerned. Respondents are also more evenly divided on concerns they might have about voters being influenced by others. Just under half of respondents (46%) say they would be concerned, with one in five (21%) thinking they would be very concerned. Just over half of respondents (52%) would not be concerned, with one in four (25%) not at all concerned. Each of these concerns is now examined in more detail.
60 Electoral Rights Across all Member States, the majority of respondents say they would be concerned that an electronic, online or postal system of voting might be difficult for some people, such as those with disabilities or those who are older. The Member States where respondents are most likely to say they would be concerned that an electronic, online or postal system of voting might by difficult for certain people to use are Portugal (81%), Greece (78%) and Ireland (78%). Indeed, around four in ten respondents in Portugal (40%) and Greece (39%) say they would be very concerned. This strong view is also particularly notable in Malta (44%) and Italy (41%), compared with the EU average (31%). Countries where respondents are least likely to think such systems of voting would be difficult for some people to use include Slovakia (55%), the Czech Republic (55%), Slovenia (57%), Lithuania (59%) and Poland (59%). Among these, a notably high proportion of respondents say they are not at all concerned in Lithuania (20%), Poland (17%) and Slovakia (17%). Cyprus also has a particularly high proportion holding this opinion (18%), compared with the EU average (11%). Socio-demographic and key variable analysis shows few notable differences in opinion between groups. Those most likely to say they would be concerned about whether certain groups of people would find an electronic, online or postal system difficult to use are women (73%) and people who finished their full-time education aged 19 or under (73%).
Electoral Rights Q8.4 If you were able to vote electronically, online or by post, how concerned would you be about each of the following? The system might be difficult to use for some people, such as people with disabilities or older people (% - EU) Total 'Concerned' Total 'Not concerned' Don't know EU28 69 29 2 Gender Male 65 33 2 Female 73 25 2 Education (End of) 15-73 22 5 16-19 73 25 2 20+ 65 33 2 Still studying 70 29 1 61
62 Electoral Rights In most Member States (22), the majority of respondents say they would be concerned about potential fraud if they were able to use an electronic, online or postal system of voting. There is greater national variation than that seen in relation to concerns about difficulties some people might have using such a system of voting. Respondents are most likely to express concerns about potential fraud if they were able to vote electronically, online or by post in Greece (72%), Portugal (72%), Malta (70%) and the UK (70%). Three of these countries are also the most likely of all Member States to show strong concern: Portugal (40%); Greece (37%); and Malta (36%) notably higher than the EU average (28%). Countries where respondents are least likely to express concerns about potential fraud are Sweden (29%), Finland (34%), Estonia (35%) and Denmark (39%). Among these, a notably high proportion of respondents say they are not at all concerned in Estonia (24%), Denmark (24%) and Sweden (23%). There are four other countries with a particularly high proportion holding this opinion, compared with the EU average (13%): Lithuania (27%); Cyprus (23%); Slovenia (22%); and Croatia (20%). Again, there are few large differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups. Those most likely to say they would be concerned about potential fraud are: Women (64%) People who finished their full-time education aged 15 or under (71%), compared with those who finished aged 16-19 (66%) Those who are not working (66%)
Electoral Rights Q8.1 If you were able to vote electronically, online or by post, how concerned would you be about each of the following? Potential fraud (% - EU) Total 'Concerned' Total 'Not concerned' Don't know EU28 61 37 2 Gender Male 59 40 1 Female 64 34 2 Education (End of) 15-71 25 4 16-19 66 32 2 20+ 56 43 1 Still studying 63 37 0 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 58 40 2 Employee 57 42 1 Manual workers 62 36 2 Not working 66 32 2 63
64 Electoral Rights A smaller number of Member States (17) show a majority of respondents expressing concerns about the secrecy of the vote if they were able to use an electronic, online or postal system of voting. The countries where respondents are most likely to be concerned are Malta (66%), Italy (61%) and Portugal (59%). Each of these countries has a notably high proportion of respondents expressing strong concern: Malta (36%); Italy (31%); and Portugal (29%). There are two other countries with a particularly high proportion holding this strong opinion Romania (29%) and Greece (29%) compared with the EU average (23%). The Member States where respondents are least likely to express concerns about secrecy of the vote are Estonia (28%), Sweden (30%), Denmark (32%) and Finland (33%). Among these, a particularly high proportion of respondents say they are not at all concerned in Sweden (35%), Estonia (31%) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Denmark (28%). There are three other countries with a notably high proportion holding this opinion Lithuania (33%), Bulgaria (30%) and Cyprus (29%) compared with the EU average (21%). Again, there are few large differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups. Those most likely to say they would be concerned about the secrecy of the vote if they were able to vote electronically, online or by post are: Women (55%) People aged 55 and over (57%) People who finished their full-time education aged 19 or under: those aged 15 or under (60%) and aged 16-19 (57%) Those who are not working (56%)
Electoral Rights Q8.2 If you were able to vote electronically, online or by post, how concerned would you be about each of the following? Secrecy of the vote (% - EU) Total 'Concerned' Total 'Not concerned' Don't know EU28 52 46 2 Gender Male 49 49 2 Female 55 43 2 Age 15-24 49 50 1 25-39 49 50 1 40-54 53 46 1 55 + 57 40 3 Education (End of) 15-60 37 3 16-19 57 41 2 20+ 48 51 1 Still studying 48 51 1 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 50 49 1 Employee 49 50 1 Manual workers 51 48 1 Not working 56 41 3 65
66 Electoral Rights There are only eight Member States where the majority of respondents say they would be concerned about voters being influenced by others if they were able to use an electronic, online or postal system of voting. Respondents are most likely to say they are concerned in Malta (66%), Bulgaria (63%), Romania (58%), Portugal (57%) and Latvia (57%). With one exception (Latvia), these countries have a notably high proportion of respondents expressing strong concern: Malta (35%); Romania (35%); Bulgaria (29%); and Portugal (29%). A further two countries have a notably high proportion of respondents voicing strong concerns the Czech Republic (30%) and Croatia (28%) compared with the EU average (21%). The Member States where respondents are least likely to say they would be concerned about voters being influenced by others are Sweden (23%), Finland (24%), Denmark (29%), Estonia (34%) and the Netherlands (34%). Among these, a particularly high proportion of respondents say they are not at all concerned in Sweden (38%), Denmark (34%) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Finland (31%). Cyprus is the only other country with a particularly high proportion (32%) holding this view, compared with the EU average (25%). Again, there are few large differences in opinion between socio-demographic and key variable groups. Those most likely to say they would be concerned about voters being influenced by others if they were able to vote electronically, online or by post are: 15-24 year-olds (48%) and older people aged 55 and over (50%) people who finished their full-time education aged 19 or under: those aged 15 or under (54%) and 16-19 (50%) manual workers (52%) and those who are not working (51%)
Electoral Rights Q8.3 If you were able to vote electronically, online or by post, how concerned would you be about each of the following? Voters being influenced by others (% - EU) Total 'Concerned' Total 'Not concerned' Don't know EU28 46 52 2 Age 15-24 48 51 1 25-39 39 59 2 40-54 43 55 2 55 + 50 46 4 Education (End of) 15-54 42 4 16-19 50 47 3 20+ 40 58 2 Still studying 48 51 1 Respondent occupation scale Self-employed 41 57 2 Employee 39 60 1 Manual workers 52 47 1 Not working 51 46 3 67
Electoral Rights Technical specifications TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Between the 3 rd and the 5 th of, TNS Political & Social, a consortium created between TNS political & social, TNS UK and TNS opinion, carried out the FLASH EUROBAROMETER 431 survey on request of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. It is a general public survey co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication, Strategy, Corporate Communication Actions and Eurobarometer Unit. The FLASH EUROBAROMETER 431 survey covers the population of the respective nationalities of the European Union Member States, resident in each of the 28 Member States and aged 15 years and over. TS 1
Electoral Rights Technical specifications All interviews were carried using the TNS e-call centre (our centralised CATI system). In every country the respondents were called both on fixed lines and mobile phones. The basic sample design applied in all states is multi-stage random (probability). In each household, the respondent was drawn at random following the "last birthday rule". TNS has developed its own RDD sample generation capabilities based on using contact telephone numbers from responders to random probability or random location face-to-face surveys, such as Eurobarometer, as seed numbers. The approach works because the seed number identifies a working block of telephone numbers and reduces the volume of numbers generated that will be ineffective. The seed numbers are stratified by NUTS2 region and urbanisation to approximate a geographically representative sample. From each seed number the required sample of numbers are generated by randomly replacing the last two digits. The sample is then screened against business databases in order to exclude as many of these numbers as possible before going into field. This approach is consistent across all countries. Readers are reminded that survey results are estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests upon the sample size and upon the observed percentage. With samples of about 1,000 interviews, the real percentages vary within the following confidence limits: TS 2