Up to 500 voters caught in Sweden’s early-vote error

Up to 500 early votes may be impossible to link to the right voter after a registration fault in Sweden. The final number is expected to be lower.

The Election Authority said on 7 September that its analysis cut the possible total from the earlier estimate of up to 4,000. The first figure covered everyone registered during periods when the error might have occurred; the new ceiling covers votes that cannot yet be matched securely.

The error happened while early votes were being registered electronically at voting desks. Staff could begin registering the next voter before the previous registration had closed, which could attach a vote to the wrong person.

The authority says unmatched votes are likely not to count. It will publish the affected voting locations and times. Anyone who recognises when and where they voted can cast a new vote at their assigned polling station on election day.

Polling stations are open from 08:00 to 20:00 on 13 September. A polling-station vote takes precedence over an early vote; casting another early vote would instead invalidate all of that voter’s early ballots.

The authority says it has found no signs of external interference and expects the number to fall as its analysis continues.

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