In the new year, employees in Tromsø municipality discovered an envelope in a warehouse, which certainly did not belong there: At least 24 unopened ballot envelopes from the Sami parliamentary election in 2021. In a letter of deviation dated 8 February, Tromsø municipality explains the find. In total, 26 more ballot envelopes have been registered than there are counted ballots. These belong to the Gáisi constituency, which consists of the municipalities of Kåfjord, Storfjord, Lyngen, Karlsøy, Tromsø, Balsfjord, Målselv, Bardu, Senja and Sørreisa in Troms. The municipality’s theory is that all the envelopes they have now found contain advance votes that have been tried but not counted. Due to the time that has passed since the election, the municipality is unable to say with certainty what has happened, they write in the non-conformity letter. They have no reason to suspect that unauthorized persons have had access to the envelopes in the period after the Sámi parliamentary elections. The unopened ballots were found two years after the election. Photo: Linnea Berg Thorkildsen / news Will not open the envelopes – We take it very seriously, says Tom Sottinen (Ap), plenary leader of the Sámi Parliament. He adds: – We know that there are few votes that can decide the allocation of mandates in the various circles. Sottinen says that they have not opened the envelopes with the votes, but that a simulation shows that these would not change the distribution of mandates, regardless of the content. – You will not open the ballot papers. Why not? – It is an important principle that we have secret elections in Norway. This also applies to Sámi parliamentary elections. Tom Sottinen (Ap), plenary leader of the Sámi Parliament. Photo: Nils John Porsanger / news The Sami Parliament has now notified the Directorate of Elections and the Ministry of Local Government, and requested a meeting with the Minister of Local Government. – We have also taken it up with Tromsø municipality, who will investigate it. They are the ones who are practically responsible for the conduct of the election. Sottinen praises the municipality for notifying the deviation. – Otherwise we would not have discovered it. – One more envelope can change the distribution Toril Bakken Kåven, representative of the Nordkalottfolket, which is the largest opposition party in the Sami Parliament, thinks it is bad that this can happen. – You go to a polling station because you want to participate in democracy. It is terrible to know that your voice is left behind and never spoken. She believes the number of votes is high, and points out that it will not take many votes to change the result in the Sámi parliamentary election. Toril Bakken Kåven, representative of the Nordkalottfolket, which is the largest opposition party in the Sami Parliament. Photo: Nils John Porsanger / news – We know that only 50-60 votes are needed for the distribution of mandates to be changed. There are not that many more than those that have now been found. There is only one more envelope to appear, then it is possible that the distribution of mandates will change. Kåven fears that there may be more forgotten votes in the system. – Shouldn’t happen Tromsø mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen (Ap) was leader of the Sámi parliamentary election 2021. – Of course that shouldn’t happen, he says when news asks about the forgotten votes. Wilhelmsen warns that the municipality will take action. – Now we have to look at the routines, so that we don’t end up in this situation again. In the future, there should not be a forgotten envelope with votes lying around. Tromsø mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen (Ap) was the leader of the Sámi parliamentary election 2021. Here on the occasion of the Sámi’s national day in Tromsø. Photo: Henrik Einangshaug / news – How can this happen? – That is what we have to look at. Now that this has happened, I am at least very happy that this has had no influence on the allocation of mandates. – What responsibility do you have for this happening? – The administration has forgotten these voices. We have to look at how that can happen. We don’t have an answer to that now. Election researcher: – Unusual Even if the votes would not have given a different election result in 2021, election researcher Troy Saghaug Broderstad still describes it as serious. He is surprised that this could happen. – We shall not take this lightly. I can’t remember in my lifetime that this has happened before. It is important that we have confidence in our democratic institutions, he says. He does not believe that the unopened ballot papers affect confidence in the electoral system in Norway. But it is important to find out how this happened, says the election researcher. Election researcher Troy Saghaug Broderstad at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / CHRISTIAN KRAKENES – If there is a general perception that your vote is put on a shelf and not counted, then it will probably lead to people not being able to go to the polling stations, says Broderstad. He refers to an episode in the news series Makta, where some ballots from Narvik that were found at the last minute affected the distribution of mandates in the Storting. But how was it, is it really true that forgotten ballot papers from 1977 were decisive for the general election? Read the fact check here. – It has probably happened that votes have been forgotten, but it is unusual that it takes so long before they are found, says Broderstad.
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Unopened ballots from the Sámi parliamentary election – news Troms and Finnmark
