A lot of mistakes were made when counting EU votes

In almost half of the voting districts reviewed by SVT, the vote counts do not match. The number of votes relative to ballot paper envelopes is not equal in this year's EU election. SVT reviewed 14 municipalities, one of which is Skellefteå. "This kind of mistakes runs the risk of hurting the public's confidence in the voting system," says John Högström, a political scientist at Mittuniversitetet, to SVT.

 Viktoria Hallmans, election coordinator in Skellefteå municipality, believes that a new ballot system would simplify handling and reduce errors in the polling station.

Viktoria Hallmans, election coordinator in Skellefteå municipality, believes that a new ballot system would simplify handling and reduce errors in the polling station.

Foto: Gerth Hedberg

Engelska2024-07-12 16:00
Profilbild för Gerth Hedberg
Gerth Hedberg
Profilbild för Akvelina Bergsten
Akvelina Bergsten

SVT reviewed the counting of votes in the EU election in 14 municipalities in the country. That means a total of 410 electoral districts.

In elections, voters have one vote. It is possible to verify this by comparing the number of checked-off voters with the number of ballot envelopes and ballot papers. However, SVT's review shows that in 196 of the 410 districts, the numbers do not match.

– This is probably due to human error. We in Skellefteå have not yet gone through the protocols from the electoral districts, but we will do so after the summer when we conduct our evaluation of the election, says Viktoria Hallmans, election coordinator in Skellefteå municipality.

In more than one-third of the districts, in 213 cases, the number of votes is either too many or too few compared to the number of envelopes.

– You have to expect some minor errors, but that there were this many surprises me, says John Högström to SVT.

The most common error is more votes than envelopes. In the protocols SVT has read, the difference is likely explained by missing double ballot papers in the envelopes.

– Double ballot papers should be detected before the vote ends up in the ballot box or when taking out the ballot papers from the envelope, says John Högström to SVT.

In 100 districts, the number of checked-off voters also did not match the number of envelopes.

Are there usually errors in vote counting in elections in Skellefteå?

– It's not frequent, not usual, but it can occur, says Viktoria Hallmans.

The head of the Election Authority's (Valmyndighetens) office, Anna Nyqvist, believes that the system must be improved and that the procedures and training for vote receivers should be reviewed.

– The Election Authority has proposed a new ballot system where the voter receives a ballot in hand and no envelopes, and the ballot gets a stamp on it when you have voted, she tells SVT.

Viktoria Hallmans is positive about the proposal.

– I think the handling would be easier as you only have one paper to keep track of. Then you remove the large amount of ballot papers in the polling station. The idea is that you get one ballot paper and on it, you check the party and you can also check a number for a personal vote, she explains.

The reviewed municipalities were Borås, Falköping, Falun, Härnösand, Jokkmokk, Klippan, Landskrona, Mölndal, Ronneby, Sala, Skellefteå, Sölvesborg, Täby, and Varberg.

 
 
 
 
 
 
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