Norwegian municipal elections
Encyclopedia
In Norway
, municipal elections are local elections which are held every four years to elect representatives to the municipality ("kommune") councils. The elections are conducted concurrently with the Norwegian county elections. The last election was held on September 10, 2007 (as part of the 2007 local elections
), the next will be held in 2011
. Norway holds elections every two years, alternating between local elections and parliamentary elections.
Municipal elections were first in Norway in 1837.
The voter's residency as of June 30 determines which municipality and election the voter will vote in.
The ballot itself consists of a list of names, each with a checkbox beside it. Candidates given priority by the party are entered in bold. Voters are allowed to give "personal votes" ("personstemme") to people on the ballot by putting a mark next to their name. Also on the ballot is a table allowing voters to write in candidates who are running for another party. Voters can give personal votes to candidates on other ballots (so called "danglers") by entering the candidate's name in the table.
After the voter has selected the ballots, and making whatever adjustments desired, the voter folds the ballot together, hiding the information on the inside, thereby keeping the vote secret
. An election official checks the person's identity and stamps the ballot, validating it, before it is inserted into the election box.
The system with folded and stamped ballots has been criticized, because studies show that about 10% of voters fold the ballot the wrong way, exposing rather than hiding their choice. This can lead to suspicions that this "mistake" is sometimes done intentionally in a scheme of electoral fraud
. If someone "buys" a vote, the bought voter can "accidentally" reveal his choice to confirm that she or he upheld his or her part of the deal. Utilizing envelopes to increase the security of the elections has been suggested.
The number of votes each party received is counted. Due to the transferral of votes due to the danglers, the number of votes may well be fractions. Danglers are personal votes given by to a candidate although the voter voted for another party. A voter who has given a dangler transfers a portion of the vote to the other party. So if there are 30 seats in the council, and a person votes Labor but writes in a personal vote to a person on the Conservative list, Labor gets 29/30 of a vote, while the Conservative list gets 1/30 of a vote.
Quotients are determined by dividing the number of votes each party received by 1.4, then by 3, 5, 7, 9, and so on. The quotients are then ranked from largest to smallest. The party boasting the highest quotient is given the first seat, the one with the second highest the second, and so on until all the seats have been distributed. This gives approximately a proportional representation
in the council.
In case of a tie, the order in which the candidate stands on the ballot determines who is elected.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, municipal elections are local elections which are held every four years to elect representatives to the municipality ("kommune") councils. The elections are conducted concurrently with the Norwegian county elections. The last election was held on September 10, 2007 (as part of the 2007 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 2007
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 10, 2007, with some areas polling on September 9 as well. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently...
), the next will be held in 2011
Norwegian local elections, 2011
Nationwide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on 12 September 2011. Several municipalities also opened the polling booths on 11 September. For most polling stations this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections...
. Norway holds elections every two years, alternating between local elections and parliamentary elections.
Municipal elections were first in Norway in 1837.
Suffrage
The electorate includes all Norwegian citizens of age 18 or higher (must be at least 18 by the end of the year), and who reside, or who have resided in Norway. In addition, other residents who have lived continuously in Norway for the preceding three years may vote. Residents of Norway who hold a citizenship for another Nordic country need only have resided in Norway as of June 30 the year of the election to be allowed to vote.The voter's residency as of June 30 determines which municipality and election the voter will vote in.
Ballots
In general, each political party who participates in an election for a particular municipality nominates a list of names which appear on the ballot. It is possible for parties to cooperate on a single ballot however. For the municipality elections, the ballots are printed on white paper, distinguishing them from the blue ballots used in the county election. Both municipality and county ballots are kept in the voting booth at the polling stations.The ballot itself consists of a list of names, each with a checkbox beside it. Candidates given priority by the party are entered in bold. Voters are allowed to give "personal votes" ("personstemme") to people on the ballot by putting a mark next to their name. Also on the ballot is a table allowing voters to write in candidates who are running for another party. Voters can give personal votes to candidates on other ballots (so called "danglers") by entering the candidate's name in the table.
After the voter has selected the ballots, and making whatever adjustments desired, the voter folds the ballot together, hiding the information on the inside, thereby keeping the vote secret
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. An election official checks the person's identity and stamps the ballot, validating it, before it is inserted into the election box.
The system with folded and stamped ballots has been criticized, because studies show that about 10% of voters fold the ballot the wrong way, exposing rather than hiding their choice. This can lead to suspicions that this "mistake" is sometimes done intentionally in a scheme of electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. If someone "buys" a vote, the bought voter can "accidentally" reveal his choice to confirm that she or he upheld his or her part of the deal. Utilizing envelopes to increase the security of the elections has been suggested.
Determining seat allocation
The apportionment of seats between the parties is done by St Lagües modified method, described below.The number of votes each party received is counted. Due to the transferral of votes due to the danglers, the number of votes may well be fractions. Danglers are personal votes given by to a candidate although the voter voted for another party. A voter who has given a dangler transfers a portion of the vote to the other party. So if there are 30 seats in the council, and a person votes Labor but writes in a personal vote to a person on the Conservative list, Labor gets 29/30 of a vote, while the Conservative list gets 1/30 of a vote.
Quotients are determined by dividing the number of votes each party received by 1.4, then by 3, 5, 7, 9, and so on. The quotients are then ranked from largest to smallest. The party boasting the highest quotient is given the first seat, the one with the second highest the second, and so on until all the seats have been distributed. This gives approximately a proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in the council.
Personal votes and priority candidates
After the number of seats won by a list for the council is determined, the number of personal votes received, whether directly from someone supporting the list, or from danglers, by each candidate determines which ones will take the seats. Parties wishing to give priority to particular candidates may do so, and they will receive what amounts to a quarter personal vote per person voting for their party.In case of a tie, the order in which the candidate stands on the ballot determines who is elected.