Multiterritorial suffrage. Evidence of Andean migrants in Ecuador

Abstract

In several countries around the globe, migrants can participate in elections in the origin country while also being able to elect authorities and/or voice their issue preferences in referendums in residence countries. This article analyzes various reasons that migrants report regarding their electoral behavior in two independent territories. We analyzed 57 semi-structured interviews from Andean migrantswho haveexternal voting rights from their four distinct origin countries (Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela) as well as voting rights in the country of residence (Ecuador). Evaluating two dependent variables—prior voting and the intention to vote—for each group of migrants, we consider four mutually exclusive types ofmigrant electoral behavior: (1) emigrant voting, (2) immigrant voting, (3) dual transnational voting or (4) abstention. While variations in migrant electoral behavior depend on contextual reasons—such as tenure abroad and left-behind relatives in the origin country—political and institutional variables are prominent in our interviewees’ narratives.