Viktoria Hallmans, election coordinator in Skellefteå municipality, talks about several initiatives ahead of the election.
EU-valet
Europa Direkt in Västerbotten has its office in Skellefteå, but serves the entire county. Both they and the Skellefteå Municipal Election Office are working to encourage more people to vote.
Early voting started on May 22, and the big election day is June 9. One of the groups they want to reach are first-time voters.
– First-time voters make up about seven percent of all eligible voters in Sweden, which is a large group. If you vote when you are young, you tend to keep on voting, says Cecilia Frank.
Europea Direkt has 15 offices throughout the country. Their main task is to provide citizens with knowledge and information about the EU.
– Now we are trying to target young people. We are very active in high schools, informing and meeting those who are turning 18. We also have a cooperation with Umeå University aimed at students. We have had some lectures during the spring and during Europe Day week we were also here at Campus Skellefteå to meet young people. We have also focused on social media channels with messages aimed at attracting young people.
I Skellefteå samarbetar också Cecilia Frank med valkansliet. Kommunen har fått 60 000 euro av Europaparlamentet för att marknadsföra och göra det lättare för personer att rösta i det kommande EU-valet.
– The goal is to increase voter turnout. We have three target groups: first-time voters, people with disabilities, and newcomers and foreign-born individuals, says Viktoria Hallmans, election coordinator in the municipality.
Among the initiatives are:
• Mobile polling stations that will make stops in villages throughout the municipality.
– In the past, almost everything happened on election day. Now we will spread it out on different days throughout the entire voting period to ensure better accessibility. Part of it is also that we are testing early voting at Solbacken; we want to be where the people are.
• Election ambassadors who provide information and can answer questions.
– There are many people aged 18-25 years. We will be where the target groups are, such as on campus, high schools, language cafés, associations, or wherever visits are wanted, says Hallmans.
• Information through articles and videos published, for example, on YouTube and social media.
A collaboration between the municipality and the Europe office includes interviews with Sweden's members of the European Parliament, focusing on issues relevant to Skellefteå municipality.
Cecilia Frank thinks it is important to reach all first-time voters.
Voter turnout decreased from the 2014 to the 2019 election. In Skellefteå municipality, 53.4 percent voted in 2019, with even fewer in Norsjö and Malå.
What do you think contributes to the low interest?
– Well, partly it's this feeling that what happens in the EU doesn't affect me. Also, there's a lack of connection with the EU, and people feel they are not well-informed: 'I know too little, so I shouldn't go and vote, says Cecilia Frank.
Are we too far from the European Parliament to care?
– Unfortunately, it's a bit like that. But I usually compare and say that when it's election time for the Swedish Parliament, no one thinks they are too poorly informed about how decision-making works in the Parliament, and that's far away.
– It's about getting people to feel that we are part of European cooperation. You may think it's good or bad, but it still affects us. That's why it's important to vote, says Frank.