A record of 227,112 Mexicans living abroad are registered to vote in the 2024 federal elections on Sunday, June 2, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry says.
In total, 23 voting centers will be installed in 20 U.S. cities, as well as in Montreal, Canada; Madrid, Spain and Paris, France.
Expat Mexican citizens can also emit their votes by electronic means (the internet) or by post.
According to Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena, the figure is 25 percent higher than the number of expat Mexicans who voted in the 2018 elections, although she admitted the figure is still “very low.”
The figure is equivalent to around 1.8 percent of Mexicans believed to be living abroad. It is estimated that around 12 million Mexicans reside abroad, the vast majority of them in the United States. The estimate of exactly how many are eligible to vote in elections, however, is unclear.
The figure appears well below comparative estimates for expatriate Americans who vote in U.S. elections. According to the FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program) data, approximately 7.8 percent of U.S. citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote (estimated at three million) participated in the 2020 U.S. general election. This figure is inconclusive though, given the hugely disparate official U.S. government figures regarding the exact number of U.S. citizens residing in foreign countries.
Most expat Mexicans will only be permitted to vote in the federal elections. Only nine of its 32 states, including Jalisco, allow Mexicans living abroad to vote in local elections.