Soria (Senate constituency)

For the Congress of Deputies constituency, see Soria (Congress of Deputies constituency). For the Cortes of Castile and León constituency, see Soria (Cortes of Castile and León constituency).

Soria
Senate of Spain Electoral constituency
Location of Soria within Spain
Province	Soria
Autonomous community	Castile and León
Population	90,150 (2024) [1]
Electorate	75,768 (2023)
Major settlements	Soria
Current constituency
Created	1977
Seats	4
Member(s)	PP (3)   PSOE (1)

Soria is one of the 59 constituencies (Spanish: circunscripciones) represented in the Senate of Spain, the upper chamber of the Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales. The constituency elects four senators. Its boundaries correspond to those of the Spanish province of Soria. The electoral system uses an open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. Electors can vote for up to three candidates.

Electoral system

The constituency was created as per the Political Reform Act 1977 and was first contested in the 1977 general election. The Act provided for the provinces of Spain to be established as multi-member districts in the Senate of Spain, ^[2] with this regulation being maintained under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. ^[3] Additionally, the Constitution requires for any modification of the provincial limits to be approved under an organic law, needing an absolute majority in the Cortes Generales. ^[4]

Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprises all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights. ^[5] The only exception was in 1977, when this was limited to nationals over 21 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political and civil rights. ^{[6] [7]} Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Spaniards abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish : Voto rogado), ^{[8] [9]} which was abolished in 2022. ^[10] 208 seats are elected using an open list partial block voting system, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors can vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces is allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts are the islands themselves, with the larger—Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife—being allocated three seats each, and the smaller—Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera and El Hierro (which comprised a single constituency only for the 1977 election), Lanzarote and La Palma—one each. Ceuta and Melilla elect two seats each. ^{[2] [3] [11] [12]} Until 1985, the law also provided for by-elections to fill Senate seats vacated up to two years into the legislature. ^[13]

The electoral law allows for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election are required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call—fifteen before 1985—whereas groupings of electors need to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they seek election—one permille of the electorate, with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures, until 1985—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Also since 2011, parties, federations or coalitions that have not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election are required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies. ^{[14] [15]}

Senators

Senators for Soria 1977–
Key to parties    PSOE   IDS/ADEI    UCD    PP    CP    AP
Legislature	Election	Distribution
Constituent	1977	4
1st	1979	3 1
2nd	1982	2 1 1
3rd	1986	1 3
4th	1989	1 3
5th	1993	1 3
6th	1996	1 3
7th	2000	1 3
8th	2004	1 3
9th	2008	1 3
10th	2011	1 3
11th	2015	1 3
12th	2016	1 3
13th	2019 (Apr)	2 2
14th	2019 (Nov)	2 2
15th	2023	1 3

Elections

2023 general election

Summary of the 23 July 2023 Senate of Spain election results

Candidates	Parties and coalitions		Popular vote
			Votes	%
Y José Manuel Hernando García		PP	18,144	36.92
Y Javier Jiménez Santamaría		PP	17,510	35.63
Y María Cristina Rubio Blasco		PP	16,993	34.58
Y Javier Antón Cacho		PSOE	14,368	29.24
• Ana María Romero Rupérez		PSOE	13,572	27.62
• Jesús María Cedazo Mínguez		PSOE	12,847	26.14
• Carlos Vallejo Muñoz		SY	11,226	22.84
• Fernando Arévalo Jiménez		SY	10,016	20.38
• Silvia Largo Del Barrio		SY	9,583	19.50
• Alberto Enrique Peñuelas Felipe		Vox	4,486	9.13
• María Montserrat Rubio Blázquez		Vox	3,932	8.00
• Carlos Alonso Omeñaca		Vox	3,706	7.54
• Nicasio Martínez Gracia		Sumar	2,320	4.72
• María Milagros Solano Rodrigo		Sumar	1,552	3.15
• Mario Calonge Calvo		Sumar	1,306	2.65
• Ana María Carrión de la Llana		PACMA	232	0.47
• Cesar Dominguez Baños		PCTE	124	0.25
• Álvaro Galera Arias		PUM+J	75	0.15
• Lua Buera Ayllón		Recortes Cero	60	0.12
Blank ballots			633	1.28
Total			142,685
Valid votes			49,132	98.13
Invalid votes			936	1.86
Votes cast / turnout			50,068	73.36
Abstentions			18,176	26.63
Registered voters			68,244
Sources [16]

References

1. "Real Decreto 1210/2024, de 28 de noviembre, por el que se declaran oficiales las cifras de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal referidas al 1 de enero de 2024". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2024.
2. Law 1/1977 (1977) , trans. prov. 1.
3. Const. Esp. (1978) , tit. III, ch. I, art. 69.
4. Const. Esp. (1978) , tit. VIII, ch. II, art. 141.
5. LOREG (1985) , tit. I, ch. I, art. 2.
6. RDL 20/1977 (1977) , tit. I, art. 2.
7. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
8. LOREG (1985) , tit. I, ch. VI, art. 75.
9. Reig Pellicer, Naiara (16 December 2015). "Spanish elections: Begging for the right to vote". cafebabel.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
10. Araque Conde, Pilar (8 June 2022). "El Congreso acaba con el voto rogado: diez años de trabas burocráticas para los residentes en el extranjero". Público (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
11. RDL 20/1977 (1977) , tit. II, ch. II, art. 19 & 21.
12. LOREG (1985) , tit. II, ch. III, art. 162 & 165–166.
13. RDL 20/1977 (1977) , tit. III, art. 29.
14. RDL 20/1977 (1977) , tit. IV, art. 30–31 & 34.
15. LOREG (1985) , tit. I, ch. VI, art. 44 & tit. II, ch. V, art. 169.
16. "Electoral Results Consultation. Senate. 2023". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 August 2023.

Bibliography

• Ley 1/1977, de 4 de enero, para la Reforma Política (Law 1/1977). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Vol. 4. 4 January 1977. ISSN   0212-033X. BOE-A-1977-165. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
• Real Decreto-ley 20/1977, de 18 de marzo, sobre Normas Electorales (Royal Decree-Law 20/1977). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Vol. 70. 18 March 1977. ISSN   0212-033X. BOE-A-1977-7445. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
• Constitución Española (Spanish Constitution). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Vol. 311. 29 December 1978 [latest version]. ISSN   0212-033X. BOE-A-1978-31229. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
• Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5/1985). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Vol. 147. 19 June 1985 [latest version]. ISSN   0212-033X. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
• Carreras de Odriozola, Albert; Tafunell Sambola, Xavier (2005) [1989]. Estadísticas históricas de España, siglos XIX-XX (PDF) (in Spanish). Vol. 1 (II ed.). Bilbao: Fundación BBVA. pp. 1072–1097. ISBN   84-96515-00-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.

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