Norwegianne.net

Tag: elections

  • Ponderings on the Norwegian Municipal elections 2012

    Today it is election day in Norway. We have elections every second year, alternating between parliamentary and municipality/county elections. This  time it is municipalities and counties that are up for grabs.

    As I mentioned in August, I have already voted electronically.

    I haven’t really changed my mind. The only thing that has vaguely tipped me away from the party I voted for back then was the planned expansion of the toll-road around my part of town, but the only party that is against that is also so douche-baggy that I really don’t want them to have my vote for anything.

    As we don’t have a two party system, we do have a lot of parties. I overheard someone say that voting for smaller parties is a vote wasted. But, if we all thought like that, we would end up with a two party system, and I think we would be poorer for it.

    There will be an election wake going on television tonight, but, unlike the parliamentary elections, I can’t muster that much interest in the results to watch. I’ll be settling down on the couch with a pair of knitting needles watching my box set of Bones. I’m not much of a political junkie.

  • Norwegian elections

    Even though the Norwegian election campaigning has been postponed by the Utøya shootings, I have still managed to vote as the election itself is going normally. Election day is September 12, but they open up for distance voting a fair bit before that.

    And this year, they’re also experimenting. 10 municipalities in Norway are offering electronic voting. I happen to live in one of them.

    I would have gone to vote on September 12, at my local school – but this is shiny and new… and I just had to try.

    Essentially, what they have done is give each Norwegian their own secure (or so they claim) virtual identity with accompanying pin codes. You can apply for study loans, you can check your taxes, you can apply for kindergarten places for your children, and so on, with these virtual identities. And now the citizens in ten municipalities can also vote.

    It was remarkably easy. I’m not sure how secure it was, but if I am worried about that, I can still head down to the paper voting on September 12 – testing the electronic system does not negating voting by paper. I can also change my vote as many times as I’d like by September 12.

    It is the last cast vote that counts.