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Sweden here: We always have the election on a Sunday to maximize number of voters. Also, voting can of course be posted ahead, and voting can be delegated to

Sweden here: We always have the election on a Sunday to maximize number of voters. Also, voting can of course be posted ahead, and voting can be delegated to an ombudsman if you are unable to attend physically at a voting station. We don't allow voting through any electronic devices, nor voting over the internet. All votes are placed using anonymous envelopes. This way no one can trace who you vote for, while still securing that only one vote are placed per person (by authentication at entry at voting station, and manually checked of in a list). All vote counting is manual. And we don't have a requirement for registration for voters. Voters are registered automatically, based on if you are allowed to vote (citizenship etc) or not. I would not call a country a democracy if they don't make it easy for everyone to participate in the election. Having the voting take place when most people are working, or require them to register ahead for voting is not how a democracy works.

Noughmad 10y ago
We in Slovenia also vote on Sundays. It's nice because everybody can go, but we also have very low voter turnout because most people don't care. This is a problem because religious people vote more than non-religious, simply because they're already out for church, while others don't bother to leave the house.
- reitanqild 10y ago
  > This is a problem because religious people vote more than non-religious, simply because they're already out for church, while others don't bother to leave the house. I'd assume that what you would see was more religious voters would rather refrain from voting since it was Sunday? The reason why people vote more religiously than you would expect could simply be because very many are religious, even if they don't speak loudly about it.
  - Luc 10y ago
    Do you take an active interest in Slovenian politics?
    - reitanqild 10y ago
      No, but I take an active interest when people starts blaming religion. I also think I have a feeling for how at least a subset of religious people think.
merpnderp 10y ago
How is voter authorization done? Passports, photo ID of some sort, list of names at the polling station?
- mungoman2 10y ago
  Valid identification cards in Sweden include passports, driver's licenses and national ID cards.
  - merpnderp 10y ago
    So in th US Sweden would fall into either strict or unstrict if required states depending on if provisional ballots are offered if no id is presented and if they are validated with either signatures or further id. But every state allows mail in ballots without id.
caf 10y ago
A completely automatically-maintained electoral roll is a lot easier in countries like Sweden where you are required to register your address with the authorities.
ddeck 10y ago
>I would not call a country a democracy if they don't make it easy for everyone to participate in the election Agreed. I'd go one step further and advocate compulsory voting (at least compulsory turning up). Even for the most civic minded, it's not difficult to end up with unexpected other obligations on the day and defaulting to a "oh well, one vote wont make a difference" mindset. Compulsory voting also forces all employers to accommodate their employees going to vote. Growing up in Australia, I didn't realize for some time that Australia was somewhat of an anomaly in the developed world in this regard. I'm curious if anyone has seen any research on what the impact of compulsory voting would likely be in the US with respect to the major parties.
- TelmoMenezes 10y ago
  Assuming that it is illegal to prevent someone from voting, what problem is this compulsory voting meant to solve? It feels like totalitarianism to me. What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? Democratic regimes should be sane enough so that people want to vote. Too many people not wanting to vote should be taken as a signal that something is seriously wrong.
  - xorcist 10y ago
    > What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? That's when you turn in a blank vote (void or null vote). If you just don't show up for voting you won't affect the outcome but if there is a large number of blank votes, that will be a signal something is wrong.
  - cyphar 10y ago
    > It feels like totalitarianism to me. What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? Democratic regimes should be sane enough so that people want to vote. Too many people not wanting to vote should be taken as a signal that something is seriously wrong. I disagree. Compulsory voting is incredibly important, because it ensures that everyone is represented. You can even enter a blank or invalid vote if you think the election is a sham. People who claim that "those who don't care about politics shouldn't vote" don't believe in a true democracy. In a true democracy you don't accept that 30-40% of your population is not represented because they didn't show up to vote.
ACS_Solver 10y ago
Latvia, abysmal voter turnout, but the same system pretty much. Elections on a Saturday, voting stations open from 07:00 to 20:00, and you can vote at any station. No advance registration, no requirements other than being able to identify yourself at the voting station. With manual vote counting, using paper ballots, we usually have preliminary results around midnight and it's clear who won the election from those, and 99% of the votes are counted by early Sunday morning. We may have flaws in our democratic system, but the voting process is something we do right.
ciupicri 10y ago
We in Romania also vote on Sundays. Unfortunately there are some people who get out of the town for the weekend and return too late. The voting stations close at 9 PM, so they can't vote.

Noughmad 10y ago

We in Slovenia also vote on Sundays. It's nice because everybody can go, but we also have very low voter turnout because most people don't care. This is a problem because religious people vote more than non-religious, simply because they're already out for church, while others don't bother to leave the house.

reitanqild 10y ago
> This is a problem because religious people vote more than non-religious, simply because they're already out for church, while others don't bother to leave the house. I'd assume that what you would see was more religious voters would rather refrain from voting since it was Sunday? The reason why people vote more religiously than you would expect could simply be because very many are religious, even if they don't speak loudly about it.
- Luc 10y ago
  Do you take an active interest in Slovenian politics?
  - reitanqild 10y ago
    No, but I take an active interest when people starts blaming religion. I also think I have a feeling for how at least a subset of religious people think.

merpnderp 10y ago

How is voter authorization done? Passports, photo ID of some sort, list of names at the polling station?

mungoman2 10y ago
Valid identification cards in Sweden include passports, driver's licenses and national ID cards.
- merpnderp 10y ago
  So in th US Sweden would fall into either strict or unstrict if required states depending on if provisional ballots are offered if no id is presented and if they are validated with either signatures or further id. But every state allows mail in ballots without id.

caf 10y ago

A completely automatically-maintained electoral roll is a lot easier in countries like Sweden where you are required to register your address with the authorities.

ddeck 10y ago

>I would not call a country a democracy if they don't make it easy for everyone to participate in the election Agreed. I'd go one step further and advocate compulsory voting (at least compulsory turning up). Even for the most civic minded, it's not difficult to end up with unexpected other obligations on the day and defaulting to a "oh well, one vote wont make a difference" mindset. Compulsory voting also forces all employers to accommodate their employees going to vote. Growing up in Australia, I didn't realize for some time that Australia was somewhat of an anomaly in the developed world in this regard. I'm curious if anyone has seen any research on what the impact of compulsory voting would likely be in the US with respect to the major parties.

TelmoMenezes 10y ago
Assuming that it is illegal to prevent someone from voting, what problem is this compulsory voting meant to solve? It feels like totalitarianism to me. What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? Democratic regimes should be sane enough so that people want to vote. Too many people not wanting to vote should be taken as a signal that something is seriously wrong.
- xorcist 10y ago
  > What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? That's when you turn in a blank vote (void or null vote). If you just don't show up for voting you won't affect the outcome but if there is a large number of blank votes, that will be a signal something is wrong.
- cyphar 10y ago
  > It feels like totalitarianism to me. What if I feel that a certain election is a sham, and prefer not to participate? Democratic regimes should be sane enough so that people want to vote. Too many people not wanting to vote should be taken as a signal that something is seriously wrong. I disagree. Compulsory voting is incredibly important, because it ensures that everyone is represented. You can even enter a blank or invalid vote if you think the election is a sham. People who claim that "those who don't care about politics shouldn't vote" don't believe in a true democracy. In a true democracy you don't accept that 30-40% of your population is not represented because they didn't show up to vote.

ACS_Solver 10y ago

Latvia, abysmal voter turnout, but the same system pretty much. Elections on a Saturday, voting stations open from 07:00 to 20:00, and you can vote at any station. No advance registration, no requirements other than being able to identify yourself at the voting station. With manual vote counting, using paper ballots, we usually have preliminary results around midnight and it's clear who won the election from those, and 99% of the votes are counted by early Sunday morning. We may have flaws in our democratic system, but the voting process is something we do right.

ciupicri 10y ago

We in Romania also vote on Sundays. Unfortunately there are some people who get out of the town for the weekend and return too late. The voting stations close at 9 PM, so they can't vote.