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Electonic Voting in Sweden: Hare or Tortoise?

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Electronic Voting and Democracy

Abstract

Democracy as well as modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) are two issue-areas that have each been high on the Swedish political agenda for quite some time. Sweden is often described as a good democratic example in terms of having well-informed and interested citizens and a high degree of public participation in elections. In modern times, about 80 per cent of the electorate has participated, which also holds for elections for local self-government institutions (local authorities and county councils). In the latest elections of the 1990s we have witnessed in Sweden a decrease in the number of votes, but not a dramatic change. There is still nearly 80 per cent participation in voting. Despite this there is a great debate going on concerning the state of Swedish democracy, and how to improve it. As in many other countries it has commonly been suggested that the public has become increasingly disenchanted with the traditional institutions of representative government, detached from political parties, and disillusioned with older forms of participatory activity.

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© 2004 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Olsson, J., Åström, J. (2004). Electonic Voting in Sweden: Hare or Tortoise?. In: Kersting, N., Baldersheim, H. (eds) Electronic Voting and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523531_10

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