Ballots Go Missing – SD, KD, and M Affected

Ballots for the SD and M parties have repeatedly gone missing during early voting in Sandviken. The KD party is also reported to have been affected—at the same time, more than 2,000 incident reports have been submitted to the Election Authority from across the country.

Ballots for the Moderate Party are said to have been missing on three occasions at Sandviken City Hall. The municipality’s election coordinator, Tommie Floréus, also confirms that ballots for the Sweden Democrats have gone missing on a few occasions, reports Arbetarbladet.

SD's Opposition Council Per Kihlgren takes the events seriously. He suspects that someone may be acting deliberately, but at the same time emphasizes that he has no evidence to support that.

– It feels like it's intentional, but I have no evidence to support that, he tells Riks.

Confidence in the election is at stake

Local Chair of the Moderate Party Emma Karlsson She was alerted by a voter who wanted to vote for the party but discovered that the ballots were missing. She then contacted the municipality's election coordinator.

– It’s causing some concern. I mean, there shouldn’t be any doubt that the rules are the same for all parties and voters. It undermines confidence in the voting process.

The problem extends beyond Sandviken. As of September 8, 224 municipalities had reported incidents to the Election Authority. The reports include, among other things, ballot papers that were removed or moved and attempts to influence voters.

Demands for safer systems are growing

On X, the incident has sparked calls for stricter oversight. One user writes:

”The Swedish electoral system is completely outdated and invites fraud.”

Frihetsnytt has previously reported on similar concerns, which have affected, among others, the Malmö List and the Civic Coalition, as well as calls for a unified ballot. Such a system could reduce the possibility of sabotaging a party’s participation by simply removing its ballots.