Up to 4,000 voters caught in Sweden’s early-vote error

Up to 4,000 early voters in Sweden risk having their votes rejected after a registration error affected nearly every municipality. The Election Authority warns that voting early again is not the solution.

The authority said on 4 September that a technical fault had caused some voters to be marked off twice, while others had their votes registered against somebody else. It discovered the problem the previous afternoon and fixed it overnight.

The failure occurred when received early votes were registered electronically. The authority is working with its IT supplier, the Tax Agency, to identify affected voters. Votes that cannot be linked to the correct voter will be rejected. It has found no signs of external interference.

In its questions and answers, the authority says that if someone votes early more than once, all their early votes are invalid. A vote cast at their assigned polling station on election day, 13 September, takes precedence over an early vote.

The problem also matters to eligible foreign residents voting in municipal and regional elections. Those elections are open to registered EU, Icelandic and Norwegian citizens, and to other foreign citizens who meet Sweden’s three-year continuous registration requirement.

The authority says voting resumed normally after the repair and voters are now being registered correctly.

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