Send the votes to Sweden in time

It is very important for the votes to be received on time in Sweden. If votes arrive late, they might not be counted; these votes will then be excluded from the election results.

• The Swedish Election Authority must receive all votes no later than the day before election day.
• Votes that are sent using “B-courier” must be received no later than the day before election day.

Assess how long transportation will take based on the country in question and local circumstances. The votes must be protected, it’s important to send them in a secure and reliable manner.

If you receive many votes, you must send them off in several consignments. Do not wait until the end of the vote reception period.

Preparing a consignment

At least two people must package the votes.

Here’s what to do:

1. Make sure that the name of the voting location is written at the top of each voters list.
2. Place the window envelopes in bundles of 10. Fold the relevant voter list around each bundle.
3. Enter the total number of votes that the package contains on the form “Försändelse förtidsröster från utlandet” (“Consignments of advance votes from abroad”).
4. Put the votes, vote lists and form in a strong envelope (preferably a security envelope). The consignment must be resistant to moisture and stand up to handling during transportation.

If possible, save the daily reports at the consulate or ask the general consulate or embassy in charge where to save the information. They can be used for follow-up after the elections and planning for the next election.

Send the consignment to the Swedish Election Authority

If you have any questions about the use of a courier service, contact the general consulate or embassy in charge.

If you use a commercial delivery company, the consignment must be sent using a trackable door‑to‑door service.

Here are the Swedish Election Authority’s contact details (in case the delivery company needs them):

• Tel: +46 (0) 10-574 88
• Email: utland@val.se

The Swedish Election Authority’s consignment delivery address:

Valmyndigheten
Sturegatan 2-4
SE – 172 31 Sundbyberg
Sweden

The Swedish Election Authority forwards the votes to the municipality

The Swedish Election Authority receives consignments of votes and checks the number of votes against the voter lists.

The Swedish Election Authority forwards all votes cast abroad to the municipality in which the voter is listed on the electoral roll.

If a voter is a Swedish citizen living abroad, and is no longer on the electoral roll, we add them to the electoral roll of the municipality in which they were last registered. We then send their vote to that municipality.

Postal votes without a voting card, duplicate voting card or international voting card are first send to the Swedish Election Authority. All remaining postal votes are sent directly to the municipality in which the voter is listed on the electoral roll.

The municipality carries out a preliminary vote count

Votes are counted on a preliminary basis, both at the polling station on election night and during the municipal election committee’s preliminary vote count, which begins on the Wednesday after election day.

At the polling station on election night

On election day, the municipal election committees deliver the early votes to the appropriate polling station, according to the electoral district in which the voter is listed on the electoral roll. A member of the polling staff makes a note on the electoral roll that the voter has voted, and then places the ballot envelope in the ballot box. (If the voter comes to the polling station during the day and casts a new vote in person, this replaces their postal vote which is then not counted).

When vote reception has ended on election day and the polling station has closed, the preliminary vote count is carried out.

It is therefore not possible to tell which votes were cast abroad, since they’re mixed with all other votes in the same ballot box on election day. This protects voter secrecy.

The municipal election committee’s preliminary vote count

Votes from abroad and votes from the early voting during the weekend of election day, are counted during this vote count since they do not make it in time to be handed over on election day.

The municipal election committees sometimes save most of the votes cast abroad until they conduct the preliminary vote count. This is to ensure that there are sufficient votes to protect voter secrecy.

The preliminary vote count is carried out on the Wednesday (and sometimes also on the Thursday) after election day. The votes are counted with all other votes in the constituency, and the results for each specific electoral district (which is known as an assembly district) are reported in the election results.

Final vote count by the County Administrative Board

The County Administrative Board recounts all the votes from the ballot boxes, polling stations and municipal election committees’ preliminary vote counts. Then votes for specific candidates are also counted.