UWSaint wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2026 8:37 am Would you agree with me that preventing a person from voting (having, say, an "intelligence" or "industriousness" test) is different in kind than having voting requirements that impose some burden, but do not prevent, voting? An example of a hypothetical burden -- you have to register to vote.
See, this is another thing I don’t understand. Why register to vote? Afaik the USA is the only country that does that.
Here in Sweden, the authorities know quite well who is eligible to vote. All citizens who are at least 18 years old on the day of the election can vote in the national/regional and local elections and all immigrants with a permanent resident status, plus all EU citizens that are registered residents can vote in regional and local elections.
We always hold elections on the third Sunday of September, and the government will issue lists based on your residence status on August 31 and send to the polling stations. This means that if you move in the first weeks of September you may have the inconvenience of either going back to where you lived last month to vote or vote by mail. At the polling stations you have this book of the 1500 or so voters that are supposed to show up at your polling stations, sorted by date of birth. I’ve often volunteered to work a polling station and it’s always fun to look if there are any voters that turn 18 on the day of the election and also to see how old the oldest eligible voter is and how old the oldest voter to show up is.
Anyway, no need to register. If you are eligible you are on the list. Unless you moved in the last two weeks.
We always have elections on Sunday, as that is the day when most people do not work, which facilitates voting.
No more than 1500 voters per polling station, to avoid excessive lineups.
The polling stations are open from 08.00 to 20.00 so that even people who work on that day should be able to find the time to vote.
Before you declare that the voting has ended, you need to go to the door and look outside. Any person seen heading to the polling station should be let in and given a chance to vote, even if they're a few minutes late. But once the door is closed, it’s too late.
Regarding voter ID, we basically require it, but with two exceptions.
If a voter does not have a valid ID, but is accompanied by someone with a valid ID who is willing to sign an affidavit confirming that the voter is who they claim to be, this is accepted. The affidavit is then added to the voting records.
The other exception is if the voter without ID is known by someone working the polling station. In that case you write a comment that the voter is known and write your signature next to their name in the register.
If it should turn out the person who voted without ID was not who they claim, charges could be pressed against the person who signed the affidavit or the polling agent who confirmed the identity. Both these individuals are known, so they shouldn’t be willing to take that risk just to add one fraudulent vote.