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Iceland

Franchise & Registration

  • Franchise Age: 18
  • Compulsory Vote: Not compulsory
  • Right Vote Foreign Res: Foreigners residing over 5 years can vote
  • Registration Type: Automatic registration
  • Registration Basis: Residence requirement

Election Management & Enforcement

  • Nameof EMB: National Electoral Commission
  • Independent EMB: Yes
  • EMBNominations: 5 members selected by the legislature. Expert based emmbership.
  • EMBTenure: 4 years
  • Who Runs Election: Election Management Body
  • Nameof Elect Enforcement Body: Legislature

Candidacy & Campaign Rules

  • Restrictto Candidacy: Anyone with the right to vote can stand for parliamentary elections with the exception of Supreme Court judges, the parliamentary ombudsperson and persons convicted of a crime with at least a four-month sentence or a sentence of detention for defendants committed to psychiatric care. New political organizations must register with the MoJ and receive an identifying letter of the alphabet before they can put forward candidate lists. The MoJ keeps a list of identifying letters assigned to parties during previous parliamentary elections, which it published three days after elections are announced.
  • Debate Format: /
  • Campaign Length Minimum: Not Legally Determined

Electoral System & Organisation

  • Elect System Main Election: Plurality
  • Main Election Type: Presidential
  • Main Election Cycle: 4
  • Numb Round Main Election: One
  • Referenda_Law: Proposals to amend or supplement this Constitution may be introduced at regular as well as extraordinary sessions of Althingi. If the proposal is adopted, Althingi shall immediately be dissolved and a general election held. If Althingi then passes the resolution unchanged, it shall be confirmed by the President of the Republic and come into force as constitutional law. If Althingi passes an amendment to the status of the Church under Article 62, it shall be submitted to a vote for approval or rejection by secret ballot of all those eligible to vote. Source: Constitution of the Republic of Iceland, Art. 79
  • Referenda_Binding: Wiki: The constitution of Iceland provides two articles on referendums: According to the 11th article, if 3/4 of the parliament votes to dismiss the president then that decision must be put to a binding referendum. According to the 26th article, should the president veto a bill from the parliament then it must be put to a binding referendum.
  • Voting Machine: None
  • Vote IDRequired: ID check compulsory
  • Polling Card: No polling card
  • National Holiday Elect Day: Never
  • Dayof Election: Saturday
  • Districting Source: Parliament
  • Districting Flexibility: The boundaries shall be determined based on the number of voters of either constituency for each parliamentary seat; with the adjustment seats taken into account, being more or less of equal numbers. Care should be taken, as far as is feasible, that each constituency forms a continuous whole.

Polling Station

  • Average Voterby Polling Station: 1726
  • Normal Opening Time Poll Station: 900
  • Normal Closing Time Poll Station: 2200
  • Polling Station Numbers: 132
  • Listof Polling Station Buildings: public buildings
  • Accessibility Requirement: Party to UNCRPD
  • Ballot Box Transparency: Fully opaque
  • Box Feeding System: Voter
  • Vote Receipt: No receipt
  • Count Locallyor Centrally: centrally
  • Manualor Automatic Count: manual
  • Nature Counting Personnel: Senior Electoral Commission

Ballot Paper

  • Ballot Type: Paper
  • Singleor Multi Paper Ballot: Single
  • Ballot Paper Type Description: The ballot for each constituency is a single ballot where all parties taking part in the election by putting forward a list of candidates in the constituency have their lists printed arranged in alphabetical order according to the identification letter alotted to the party for national level.
  • Orderof Candidatesor Parties: systematic (e.g. incumbent first, etc)

Remote Voting

  • Temporal Remote Voting: No
  • Geographical Remote Voting: No
  • Personal Remote Voting: No
  • Mobile Polling Stations: No

Special Needs

  • Provision First Time Voters: the Citizens Foundation
  • Provision Linguistic Ethnic Minorites: information available in other languages
  • Provision Blind Voters: The Electoral Commission also makes available a card, of the same dimensions as the ballot paper, with raised list-letters-of-the-alphabet and Braille lettering, and a window in front of each letter and a pocket on the reverse. This allows voters who are blind to make a cross through the window in front of the list for which they are voting and thus cast their vote in private and without assistance. Still, assistance can be provided if a voter informs that s/he would be unable to write on the ballot paper.
  • Provision Motor Handicap Voters: Act amending the General Elections Act and the Local Government Elections Act (Assistance with Voting) Article 63 states: If a voter states to the election board that he/she is not capable of voting in the prescribed manner due to poor eyesight or inability to use his/her hands, a person from the election board named by the voter shall assist him/her in the polling booth; a person providing such assistance is bound by an oath of confidentiality not to reveal what passed between them there. Note shall be made of the assistance in the record book and the reasons given. [Assistance shall only be given if an elector him-/herself can unambiguously tell the person giving the assistance how he/she wishes to cast the ballot.]1) A member of the election board may in no case offer assistance to a person requiring help in accordance with this Article.

Targeted Initiatives

  • History Major Changes: The voting age was lowered to 21 in 1934.
  • Transparency Initiative: Local electoral commissions are obligated to make sure that the ballot boxes and the accompanying electoral materials are handed over to the senior electoral commission [or the regional electoral commission]1)at that time, unless this cannot be done because of excusable absence. Counting should always take place as soon as possible in the opinion of the senior electoral commission [or the regional electoral commission

Inclusivity Provisions