Piteå municipality prohibits party officials from wearing political symbols at polling stations

As a party functionary, wearing political symbols when entering a polling station to, for example, check ballots is not permitted. Piteå's election board has decided that party officials are not allowed political symbols within 50 meters of a polling station.

- The voters have referred to the propaganda ban that prevails in the polling station according to the electoral law, says Piteå municipality's election coordinator Margareta Johansson.

The right to vote comes first

A voter who is going to vote, on the other hand, may wear political symbols and should not be turned away because of his dress.

But even when Lindeberg went back to the same polling station a few days later, wearing the same clothes, he was turned away again.

- This time there was only talk that I would vote and yet I was not allowed to vote, says Lindeberg.

- It is precisely the interpretation of the propaganda ban that has gone wrong here. It has been clear in our trainings that we never refuse anyone to vote. The right to vote applies before the propaganda ban, says electoral coordinator Margareta Johansson.

- I think it was awful, says Ulf Lindeberg.

On a third visit to the polling station, Ulf Lindeberg finally had to cast his vote.

- When you are so fundamentally wrong, I think an apology is in order, he says.