CERA vote and the grandchildren's law: the Supreme Court keeps the suspension for the 29 November election

Spain's Supreme Court (Third Chamber, Fourth Section) has provisionally suspended registration in the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA) —the electoral roll Spaniards living abroad vote with— of people who obtained Spanish nationality under additional provision eight, section 1, first sentence, of Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, commonly known as the «grandchildren's law». There is an exception: anyone holding a certificate from the Consular Registry that their ancestor was an exile, established without applying the presumption of the 2022 Instruction.

The decision came in two orders with identical operative parts, ATS 7774/2026 (appeal 1013/2026, brought by Iustitia Europa) and ATS 7773/2026 (appeal 1015/2026, brought by Vox), against Agreement 204/2026 of 16 July of the Junta Electoral Central (Central Electoral Board). The orders carry the dissenting opinion of one judge, who argues that the measures adopted do not match the subject matter of the appeal.

Update of 12 October: the Supreme Court keeps the suspension for the 29 November election

According to that note, Section Four of the Third Chamber has dismissed the appeals for reconsideration (recursos de reposición) filed by the State Attorney, «confirmándose en su integridad el Auto de 10 de septiembre de 2026» (the order of 10 September 2026 being upheld in full). The new orders also carry a dissenting opinion by one judge. What they add:

• The 29 November election. For people already registered in the CERA, «se mantiene la suspensión de sus efectos electorales en el proceso electoral convocado por el Real Decreto 806/2026, de 5 de octubre» (the suspension of its electoral effects is maintained for the election called by Royal Decree 806/2026 of 5 October). That royal decree calls elections to the Congress and the Senate for Sunday 29 November 2026, with the campaign running from 13 to 27 November. People not yet registered cannot be registered by the Electoral Roll Office while the suspension lasts.
• The consular certificate exception, now with a date. The suspension does not apply to anyone who obtains a certificate from the Consular Registry officer «de que, a fecha 1 de agosto de 2026» (stating that, as of 1 August 2026) they were the descendant of an exiled Spaniard by origin, without applying the presumption of the 2022 Instruction. That date does not appear in the orders of 10 September: we searched their text and it is not there. It is new in the decision of 12 October.
• Those affected can join the proceedings. Anyone who wishes can appear as a co-defendant, with a lawyer and a court representative (procurador), and make submissions on the interim measures. The deadline is five working days, counted from the day after publication in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) of the operative part of the order. It appeared in the BOE on 15 October 2026 (BOE-A-2026-21447 and BOE-A-2026-21448). The deadline started on 16 October and, since Saturdays and Sundays do not count (art. 182 of the Organic Law on the Judiciary), it ended on 22 October. The order is also posted on the Single Judicial Edictal Board (Tablón Edictal Judicial Único) and on the notice boards of the Consular Registries that handled these nationality files.
• While that deadline to appear runs, the main proceedings are suspended.
• The court also gives the parties five days to make submissions on a possible ground of inadmissibility (Article 69 b of the Law on Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction) regarding two of the associations in the case, Cubanos por la Democracia and Ascendientes Españoles en el Mundo.

This page explains what the decision says; it cannot tell you whether you should join the proceedings or whether you will be able to vote. For that, ask a lawyer or the Consular Civil Registry that handled your nationality.

Do I lose Spanish nationality?

No. The orders do not touch nationality. What is suspended is registration in the CERA or, if you were already registered, its electoral effects. The nationality of origin obtained under Law 20/2022 remains the same.

Who is affected and who is not?

The suspension concerns people who obtained nationality «por el ejercicio del Derecho de opción previsto en la Disposición Adicional 8ª.1 Inciso primero de la Ley 20/2022» (by exercising the right of option in additional provision 8.1, first sentence, of Law 20/2022). That sentence is the first one in the provision: «los nacidos fuera de España de padre o madre, abuelo o abuela, que originariamente hubieran sido españoles, y que, como consecuencia de haber sufrido exilio […], hubieran perdido o renunciado a la nacionalidad española» (those born outside Spain to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, who were originally Spanish and who, as a result of exile, lost or renounced Spanish nationality).

• It does not affect the other two routes in the same provision, in its letters a) and b): sons and daughters born abroad to Spanish women who lost their nationality by marrying foreigners before the 1978 Constitution, and adult sons and daughters of people who already obtained nationality of origin by option.
• Nor does it apply to anyone who obtains from the officer in charge of the Consular Registry a certificate that they are the child or grandchild of a Spaniard of origin who suffered exile and lost or renounced nationality, «sin haber aplicado la presunción» (without applying the presumption) of the Instruction of 25 October 2022.

What is that «presumption»?

The Instruction of 25 October 2022 of the Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública (Directorate-General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith) provides that, for this route, «se presumirá la condición de exiliado respecto de todos los españoles que salieron de España entre el 18 de julio de 1936 y el 31 de diciembre de 1955» (exile status is presumed for all Spaniards who left Spain between 18 July 1936 and 31 December 1955); in those cases proving the departure is enough. If the departure was between 1 January 1956 and 28 December 1978, exile must be proven. The orders separate those who obtained nationality by directly proving exile from those who obtained it thanks to that presumption.

If I am not yet registered in the CERA

Your registration file keeps being processed to the end. Once it is finished, the registration is suspended until there is a judgment (section 1, i, of the orders).

If I was already registered in the CERA

The electoral effects of your registration are suspended «para los sucesivos procesos electorales que puedan convocarse» (for any elections that may be called), until the judgment (section 1, ii). The orders of 12 October apply this specifically to the general election of 29 November 2026 (see above).

What can I do to vote?

The route the orders give is the Consular Registry certificate in section 1, iii: the consulate certifies that you were born outside Spain to a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother who was a Spaniard of origin, suffered exile and lost or renounced nationality, without applying the presumption. On 14 September, the Junta Electoral Central (Agreement 223/2026) asked the Dirección General de Españoles en el Exterior y de Asuntos Consulares to order the Consular Registries to issue that certificate «en los casos de las personas que […] hayan demostrado» (in the cases of people who have proven) that status. To find out how to request it in your case, ask the Consular Civil Registry where your nationality was processed.

What have the Electoral Board and the electoral roll done since?

• 14 September 2026 — the Junta Electoral Central (Agreement 223/2026) forwarded the orders to the Oficina del Censo Electoral (Electoral Roll Office) and ordered it to separate files coming from the direct application of the law from those approved under the interpretation and presumption of the 2022 Instruction, as the orders require.
• 24 September 2026 — the Board took note of the Electoral Roll Office's technical instructions to consular offices to comply with that agreement (Agreement 230/2026).

Is it final?

No. It is an interim measure: the Supreme Court still has to rule on the merits of the appeal against the Junta Electoral Central's agreement. The orders themselves say they impose no costs «dada la complejidad de las cuestiones abordadas y las dudas en derecho suscitadas» (given the complexity of the issues and the legal doubts raised).

What additional provision eight and the CERA are

Additional provision eight of Law 20/2022 allowed descendants of Spanish exiles to opt for Spanish nationality of origin (first sentence), as well as children of Spanish women who lost it by marrying foreigners before 1978 (letter a) and adult children of people who were recognized nationality of origin by option (letter b). It set a two-year deadline from its entry into force, extendable by one year by the Council of Ministers.

The CERA is the roll of Spaniards who live abroad; being registered in it is what allows you to vote from outside Spain.

If your nationality is still being processed at the Civil Registry, you can check the status of your Central Civil Registry file (page in Spanish). And if yours is nationality by residence, which is a different route, the nationality file status is checked separately (page in Spanish).

Sources

• General Council of the Judiciary press note of 12 October 2026 on the orders dismissing the appeals for reconsideration (it transcribes their operative part; the orders are not yet published).
• Royal Decree 806/2026 of 5 October, dissolving Parliament and calling elections (BOE of 6 October 2026).
• Supreme Court, orders of 10 September 2026 (ATS 7774/2026 and 7773/2026), published by the Junta Electoral Central alongside Agreement 223/2026, and the General Council of the Judiciary press note.
• Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, additional provision eight (consolidated text).
• Instruction of 25 October 2022 of the Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública, seventh directive.
• Agreement 230/2026 of the Junta Electoral Central, of 24 September.