The Election Authority is now downplaying the scope of the serious error that affected the registration of early votes ahead of the election. After an analysis over the weekend, it is estimated that a maximum of 500 voters are affected—a significant decrease from the roughly 4,000 voters previously feared to have been impacted. At the same time, the authority cannot identify exactly which voters are involved.
It was last week that the Election Authority announced information about an error in the registration of certain early votes. The error meant that in some cases, an early vote was registered with the same roll number as the previous vote.
The consequence was that the first voter’s vote could be registered twice, while the second voter’s vote was not registered at all. The authority has since worked intensely to map out how many votes could actually have been affected.
Following this weekend’s analysis, it is clear that the scale is significantly smaller than initially feared. The assessment now is that at most 500 voters might be affected. The Election Authority emphasizes, however, that the analysis is not yet fully complete and the figure may decrease further.
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The main problem is that the authority likely will not be able to ascertain exactly which individuals have been affected. Therefore, those voters cannot be contacted individually. Instead, the Election Authority will publish a list of the polling stations and times when the error occurred. Voters who know they voted at one of these locations during the indicated times will then have the opportunity to secure their vote by voting again on election day.
There is, however, an important difference between voting again on election day and voting early multiple times. The Election Authority urges voters who have already voted early not to cast another early vote. If a voter casts multiple early votes, all their early votes will become invalid.
However, those who have already voted early can vote in person at their polling station on election day. In that case, the vote cast on election day will be counted, even if the person has previously voted early.
Ballot Secrecy Remains Intact
The Election Authority also underlines that the error does not mean ballot secrecy has been compromised. The data used for registering and handling early votes can be used to identify which vote might have been affected, but it is not possible to connect a voter to the contents of their envelope.
The vote count itself, according to the Election Authority, will proceed as usual. The technical registration error has been fixed, and as of the morning of September 4th, early votes are being registered correctly.
The Election Authority continues its analysis work and will update the information when the final extent of the issue is known. The authority urges voters with questions to contact the Election Information Service.
Sweden Democrats: Serious
On Monday, the Election Authority held an extra digital meeting with the party secretaries of the parliamentary parties. The parties were mainly given the opportunity to understand how the error could occur and how the authority will ensure that something similar does not happen again.
Several party representatives stressed the importance of full transparency and maintaining trust in the electoral system. The Election Authority stated simultaneously that the meeting was primarily an informational session and that nothing new had been discovered to change the previously shared understanding of the incident.
Sweden Democrats’ party secretary Mattias Bäckström Johansson told Samnytt that they had received information explaining how the error arose and that the authority answered some questions.
– But far from everything is resolved and it is very serious, affecting trust in the electoral system and our democracy. Regardless of the number of votes ultimately affected, it is completely unreasonable that a cast vote risks not being counted. With many close elections around the country, there is a risk that the outcome could be influenced.
– It is essential that the information provided is made known to everyone as well. To restore trust and ensure everyone can rely on the electoral system.