SVT Nyheter1 hour agoPolitics2 min read

The Electoral Authority: Missing ballots can have several causes – not necessarily electoral fraud

Quick Look

A clip on X shows that the Christian Family Party's ballots are missing from a ballot rack, which party leader Aday Bethkinne calls obvious electoral influence.
The clip has been seen by nearly 74,000 people.
The electoral authority confirms that missing ballots are the most common type of incident report, but stresses that they can be due to practical reasons such as relocation, removal of voters, out of stock or late delivery by the parties, and not necessarily deliberate electoral fraud.

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Why It Matters

During election campaigns, incidents of missing ballots are often reported. The electoral authority collects these reports to monitor risks during the election. Criticism has long been directed at parties having to distribute their ballots themselves, which creates an uneven playing field, especially for smaller and new parties. A government inquiry has suggested that the electoral administration should take over the distribution to ensure equality.

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In another clip published on X by Aday Bethkinne, party chairman of the Christian Family Party, a ballot rack is shown where the party's ballots are missing.

- This is clearly electoral influence, he says.

The clip has been seen by nearly 74,000 people.

"Ballots can be missing for several reasons"

Of all the incident reports registered with the Electoral Authority so far, the majority are about missing ballots. But the statistics do not show how many cases are intentional.

The reports are used to monitor problems and risks during the election and they contain both suspicious events and common mistakes. According to the Swedish Electoral Authority, ballots can be missing for several reasons.

They may have been moved or removed by voters, run out or not yet delivered by the parties. It may also be that the recipients of the votes have not yet had time or have forgotten to post them.

Criticism of ballot papers – not electoral fraud

At the same time, there is criticism of how the ballots are handled. All parties must deliver their nomination papers themselves. Some get help from the electoral administration with the party ballots, while smaller and newer parties may have to distribute large amounts on their own.

Critics believe that it gives the parties different conditions. Therefore, a government investigation proposes that the election administration should handle all distribution in the future.

It shows that the system has practical problems - but not that anyone tried to influence the election.

Over 15,000 posts about "election fraud" in 2022

Allegations of electoral fraud linked to ballots also occurred during the 2018 and 2022 election campaigns, according to a report from the Total Defense Research Institute.

The report is based on 15,400 Twitter posts collected before and after the 2022 election that contained the word "electoral fraud". Of these, approximately 1,800 were independent posts and the rest, among other things, replies and shares. In total, around 6,200 accounts participated in the discussion.

Missing ballots were among the most common concrete electoral fraud themes.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The Electoral Administration will take over the distribution of all ballot papers in future elections.
Possible · Within years

Open Questions

How many of the reported cases of missing ballots are intentional?
What measures will the Electoral Authority take to prevent both intentional and unintentional cases of missing ballots?
Will the government inquiry's proposal for centralized distribution become a reality?