Several thousand students must now vote early or return home on election day to vote. Anna (23 years old) did not understand this rule during the 2021 elections.

This year, Anna Elise Salmi Austvik (23) voted in advance to avoid making the same mistake.

She is studying to become a lecturer at the University of Bergen and comes from Tvedestrand.

– This year I was determined to vote, and I did so by voting early in Bergen, because I don’t have the option to vote at home.

Even though she lives in western Norway, she is still registered in her hometown and, like many others, must vote in advance to avoid returning home on election day.

Several thousand students left their homes this fall to study across the country.

– In the 2021 general election, it was planned to vote in Bergen, because I did not have time to vote in my home municipality on election day, Austvik explains to VG and adds:

– I didn’t know that you had to vote in advance if you didn’t vote in your own municipality on election day.

Friday is the last opportunity to pre-vote

During the 2023 municipal and departmental elections, it is possible to vote in advance until September 8 inclusive.

During this period, you can vote at polling stations across the country, brackets Elections Department.

After you vote, your vote is sent to the municipality where you are registered as a citizen to be counted.

The 23-year-old is not alone. It is the second voters who use their right to vote the least. One reason may be that many people of this age live in a different municipality from where they grew up, without having changed their address.

During the last municipal elections, the 20-24 age group recorded the lowest participation rate: less than half voted, according to figures BLU.

Austvik says she was first told about it herself because she hadn’t checked the rules and because there was little information about it.

– I was quite embarrassed during the last elections, because in my region, it is quite shameful not to exercise your right to vote. This is one thing I agree with: it is extremely important that we young people vote, because we are the future of this country.

Afterward, she spoke to other students who had experienced the same thing.

– They were also not informed about how voting worked in the town where you don’t live and were not allowed to vote.

Fear that more people won’t be able to vote

UiB rector Margareth Hagen fears that many students across the country will not be able to vote this year.

– One of the most important measures is to ensure that we have easily accessible polling stations.

This year, the university has a polling station and has worked with the student parliament to disseminate information about election rules.

– We know that many students say they will not move, explains Kaja Ingdal Hovdenak.

She is the leader of the UIB Student Parliament.

Information has now been released that those who have not made a notified procedure must vote early.

– We spoke with many students and realized that most do not know the rules. There is little information available, so we have tried to do our part to help.

The student leader hopes as many people as possible will vote.

– The fact that the elders of society are the best at voting means that it is also the elders who decide the direction that society and the future will take. No one else votes on our behalf, young people.

Researcher: The rules could have been clearer

– The rules can be a bit complicated, explains election researcher Jana Belschner.

Belschner is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Comparative Politics in Bergen and has studied the effect of electoral laws.

She thinks the authorities could have explained the rules better. In surveys, many young people say they forget deadlines.

– The possibility of voting in advance is very good, it gives flexibility that is not available during elections in several other countries, she says and adds:

– However, many deadlines can be confusing and could have been better communicated.