Massive Rush to Early Voting: 25 Percent More Have Voted

Early voting has had a strong start ahead of this year’s election. On September 8, the Election Authority announced that just over two million voters had already cast their ballots early, which was 32 percent more than during the same period before the 2022 election. Two days later, that figure had risen to over 2.7 million.

Early voting began on August 26 and it is possible to vote early right up until and including election day, September 13. The Swedish model allows voters to choose when and where they want to vote, and early voting can be carried out at any early voting location in the country.

The development means that early voting is now about 25 percent higher than at the same point before the last election. This is according to information provided by the Election Authority to TV4.

The election for parliament, regional, and municipal councils is thus approaching its conclusion, while a significant portion of the electorate has already made their choice.

When the Election Authority presented its figures on September 8, a total of 2,091,269 voters had voted early during the first 13 days. Anna Nyqvist, Secretary General at the Election Authority, has stated that this represents a sharp increase.

– We continue to see a very large increase in early voting so far in this year’s election compared to previous elections. Almost 2.1 million voters have already voted, compared to just under 1.6 million during the same period in the 2022 election. Whether this trend continues remains to be seen, she said during the week.

Immigrants Mobilized

The Election Authority has not identified a single explanation for the increased interest. According to the authority, it seems that many voters simply appreciate being able to vote at a time and place that suits them.

Meanwhile, media reports that there is a significant increase in voter turnout in immigrant-dense areas, where a mobilization is said to be underway to prevent the anti-immigration and Islam-critical Sweden Democrats from maintaining political influence.

In Rosengård in Malmö, the Islamic Association is running the campaign “Your Vote Makes a Difference.” Multilingual election ambassadors are knocking on doors and are present outside the mosque to inform voters. Even during Friday prayers, the imam urges the congregation to exercise their voting rights.

– We want to increase voter turnout, says Nabil Abdulmajid, spokesperson for the Islamic Association in Malmö, to SVT.

Risk of Queues as Election Day Approaches

At the same time, the Election Authority has urged voters who have not yet voted not to wait too long.

– The risk of queues increases the closer we get to election day, so please get out in good time. We don’t want any voter to abstain from voting because they don’t have time or can’t stand in line, said Anna Nyqvist.

The large amount of early voting may also have an impact on how the final part of the election campaign develops. Political scientist Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg, believes that many of the votes already cast can no longer be influenced by the parties’ final push.

In an interview with TT, he describes the situation as a more “frozen” result compared to the last election.

– Only about 10,000 people go back and re-vote, so you can assume that these voters have made their decision. These votes are locked in, they cannot be influenced.

Photo: Fialotta Bratt / Election Authority

At the same time, Ekengren Oscarsson argues that there is a misconception about who chooses to vote early. It is not necessarily voters who made up their minds far in advance.

In fact, there are voters who are already certain of their party but still wait until election day itself, sometimes out of tradition. This means that those who have not yet voted are not automatically the most undecided.

That millions of votes have already been cast does not mean that the remaining part of the election campaign is insignificant. However, Ekengren Oscarsson does not believe it is likely that large groups of voters will switch political blocs in the final days.

Problems with Early Votes

The early voting has also been plagued by problems. The fault that affected the registration of early votes before the election now appears to be significantly less extensive than initially feared.

Earlier this week, Samnytt highlighted that the Election Authority estimates that at most about 500 voters may be affected by the problem. This is a significant revision from previous estimates of about 4,000 people.

Exactly which voters may have been affected has still not been determined by the authority. However, the investigation has made it possible to pinpoint the geographical scope of the problem. The Election Authority has now been able to identify which municipalities have not been affected.

Check whether your municipality is affected by looking at the list provided by the Election Authority HERE.

The Election Authority thus now has a clearer picture of the issue’s scope, even though it is still not clear which individual voters may be affected. The authority states in a press release that it will provide more information about those affected in the future.

Voting Without ID

At the end of August, Samnytt tested how it is possible to vote without identification. This was done by visiting a polling station and having one’s identity confirmed by another person, without having to show anything oneself.

In practice, this means that the person standing in front of the election official may be someone other than the person whose name appears on the voter register. See our report below.