Deferred Emigrant Voting Rights in South Asia: Analyzing the Puzzle of Non-Enfranchisement in Competitive Regimes

Emigrant voting rights are a widely accepted practice, with over 140 countries recognizing the right of non-resident citizens to vote from abroad. The process of enfranchisement varies significantly across regions, however. The countries of South Asia depart markedly from global practices: legal adoption of emigrant voting rights occurred after other regions, recognition of voting rights often came through the judicial process rather than legislation, and when legal adoption occurred it has rarely followed up with timely implementation. Present theories of emigrant enfranchisement emphasize a bargain between the diaspora and political actors, in which voting rights are extended in exchange for some desirable action from citizens abroad, be it votes, economic resources, or some other service. These theories cannot account for the distinct trajectory of South Asian cases. Using a comparative area studies approach, we analyze both the politics of legal adoption and the politics of implementation, highlighting the important role state capacity and task complexity plays in frustrating a bargain between home-state elites and potential voters abroad. The challenges of incorporating large emigrant groups into political institutions shaped by the British colonial legacy have frequently thwarted the plans of leaders, even those with an interest in emigrant enfranchisement.