Assessing Citizens’ Preferences for Voting Modalities from Abroad: A Cross-Country Study

Marco Lisi (Nova University of Lisbon) is an associate professor in the Department of Political Studies, Nova University of Lisbon and researcher at IPRI-Nova. His research interests focus on political parties, electoral behaviour, interest groups and political representation. He published several articles in national and international journals such as Party Politics, Political Studies, West European Politics, among others. He coordinated several national projects and collaborated with a variety of international projects. Abstract: Research has highlighted the challenges involved in mobilizing non-resident citizens for national elections. One such challenge is rooted in the modalities of voting from abroad. This aspect cannot be understated, as it is central to upholding democratic principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and the protection of voting rights for eligible citizens. Despite the availability of various external voting modalities, citizens’ preferences about them remain unknown. Understanding public opinion is vital because it can influence the decisions of political elites in innovating or making adjustments to overcome the unique challenges associated with external voting. To shed light on this matter, this article relies on an original dataset that investigates the preferences of both resident and non-resident citizens in five different European countries (Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Poland and Portugal). It aims to explore opinions on out-of-country voting methods and identify the key factors shaping these preferences. This study contributes to existing research by examining the extent to which resident and non-residents share similar preferences, as well as whether these attitudes differ based on the rights granted to the diaspora. Moreover, it tests the impact of individual-level factors, such as ideological beliefs and political experience, in explaining variations in opinions. The findings not only provide insights into citizens’ perspectives on voting procedures for external voting, but also have implications for electoral system reforms and efforts to improve turnout and the overall electoral process.