On September 13, the Swedish people go to the polls. Sweden's polling stations will then be filled with Swedish citizens who want to take part in shaping the country's future.
The eager and impatient 18-year-old I was two years ago thought she would be able to vote for the first time in 2026. For two years, I have prepared for my debut in Swedish democracy by actively reading Swedish newspapers and closely following party leader debates. A few months before the election, I was informed that, because I have never been registered in Sweden, I do not have the right to vote in Swedish elections - and in an instant something went wrong.
My situation is far from unique. According to information from the organization Swedes in the World and the Electoral Center on the Swedish Election Authority's website, the number of Swedish citizens living abroad can be estimated at approximately 660,000. More than half of them do not have the right to vote in Sweden.
On the Swedish Electoral Authority's website, an expatriate Swede is defined as someone who is a Swedish citizen and who "has ever been registered in Sweden and has emigrated from Sweden". In other words, Swedish legislation bases the voting rights of Swedes abroad on previous population registration.
I believe that a revision of the current regulations is necessary. Sweden should not let previous population registration be decisive for the right to vote, but give more Swedish citizens the opportunity to participate in Swedish parliamentary elections.
The principle of universal suffrage is a central pillar of a democracy.
In 1967, only Swedes living abroad who had been registered with a church in the country during the past five years were allowed to retain their right to vote. The time limit was extended to seven years in 1976 and abolished completely in 1977, but the requirement to have been registered in a church register in Sweden at some point remained. On these three crucial occasions, the discussion revolved mainly around the question of affiliation. Since 1977, previous church registration – since 1991 population registration – has been a requirement for the right to vote in Swedish elections.
However, this stance raises the question: Should an administrative criterion be allowed to determine who has sufficient connections to Sweden to be allowed to vote? Being born abroad does not in itself mean that you have no connection to Sweden. Such a criterion risks excluding Swedish citizens who, despite never having lived in Sweden, have a strong connection to the country and a great interest in Swedish politics.
A more open approach to the voting rights of Swedes abroad would also strengthen the relationship between Sweden and its citizens abroad. They have left the country for various reasons, but that does not mean they would never want to return. Maintaining their sense of belonging to Sweden should therefore be in the country's interest.
However, there are legitimate reasons for the design of today's legal system: the right to vote should presuppose a sufficient connection to Sweden. Citizens who have never lived in the country can be considered less affected by Swedish politics and less likely to return.
This was also the reasoning when the regulations were drawn up in the 1970s. In the report 1975/76:KU43, it was stated that Swedes abroad who had been registered in Sweden during the last seven years had sufficient connections to Sweden and therefore a legitimate interest in participating in Swedish parliamentary elections.
A strong connection to Sweden is of course an important prerequisite for voting in Swedish elections. Civil registration, on the other hand, is not an accurate measure of such connection. Sweden should therefore learn from the German model, which was reformed in 2013.
The year before that, the country's constitutional court ruled that the requirement of previous residence could conflict with the principle of universal suffrage. The court found that the requirement could exclude citizens with strong political affiliations while at the same time giving the right to vote to people who had only lived in Germany as young people and who lacked such affiliations.
Shortly after this landmark judgment, an opportunity was introduced for German citizens who had never lived in the country to vote. According to the current rules, they have the right to vote, if they can demonstrate that they have sufficient knowledge of German political conditions and that they are affected by them.
What went awry when I realized that I lacked the right to vote in Sweden was a mixture of my sense of belonging to the country I had until then called home and my trust in the Swedish legal system.
The principle of universal suffrage is a central pillar of a democracy. It is in Sweden's interest to protect it - primarily by letting actual connection, rather than previous population registration, determine which Swedish citizens have the right to be involved in shaping the country's future.
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