Spain’s Electoral System Remains Trapped in the Past
Democracy is not a static achievement. It must evolve, correct its course, and strive for excellence. Yet in Spain, two pillars of our political system—the 1978 Constitution and the Organic Law of the General Electoral System (LOREG 5/1985)—have been treated with very different levels of critical scrutiny.
While the Constitution has become a sacred, albeit interpretable, text, the LOREG remains a relic of a distant and improvised political moment. Enacted in 1985, it closely replicates the Royal Decree-Law 20/1977, which was hastily drafted to provide a legal framework for Spain’s first democratic elections after Franco’s dictatorship.
Today, that framework is dangerously outdated. Among its most alarming provisions is Article 97.3, which mandates the destruction of physical ballots at each polling station immediately after the results are recorded. This eliminates any possibility of an independent audit and severely compromises cybersecurity and public trust.
In an era where the integrity of electoral processes is under scrutiny worldwide, Spain’s system stands out not for its transparency, but for its vulnerabilities. No other European country, to my knowledge, destroys its ballots immediately; most preserve them for at least two years. Additionally, Spain relies on judges with no specialized training to manage elections, instead of establishing an independent, professional electoral body, as is the standard in modern democracies.
Miguel Herrero de Miñón, one of the drafters of the original 1977 Decree, has described the severe lack of academic and political understanding of electoral systems in Spain at the time. As he pointed out in a 2017 article for the Revista de Derecho Político, when the transition to democracy began, there was little more than good intentions and a few theoretical studies to guide the process.
Forty years later, clinging to such a fragile framework undermines Spain’s democratic legitimacy. Democracy cannot simply rest on its early victories; it must adapt to new realities and standards. Spain’s failure to update its electoral law leaves it vulnerable to doubts, errors, and manipulation.
Reforming the LOREG should be a national priority. A new initiative could start in the Senate, allowing Spain’s autonomous communities to participate in drafting a modern, robust electoral law. Once passed by the Senate and approved by an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies, Spain could finally align its electoral practices with the best international standards, ensuring transparency, auditability, and citizen trust.
Around the world, democracies that fail to modernize their institutions risk backsliding. Spain’s democracy, born from a struggle against authoritarianism, must not allow complacency to erode its foundations. Reforming its electoral law is not just a technical necessity—it is a moral imperative.