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statistikk
2020-07-08T08:00:00.000Z
Elections
en
folkavs_kostra, Local referendums, local democracy, persons entitled to vote, electoral turnoutReferendums, Elections
true

Local referendums

Updated

Next update

Not yet determined

Key figures

7

local referendums were held in 2019

Numbers of local referendums in Norwegian municipalities, last four years by category
2016201720182019
Referendums
Total204857
Alcohol0000
Variant of the Norwegian language2324
Territorial202531
District and identity0000
Environmental0002
Other subjects0000

See selected tables from this statistics

Table 1 
Local referendums. Voter turnout by per cent and year

Local referendums. Voter turnout by per cent and year
Persons entitled to votePercentage voter turnout
19794 12849.7
198043 53354.7
198150 62663.6
19828 28443.2
198325 26844.6
198438 75360.4
1985131 41959.3
198693 74155.4
198797 73558.6
198855 84146.4
198928 09264.5
1990133 06642.7
19918 09625.5
19921 35035.6
19939 25732.7
19944 38731.1
19955 15338.4
199628 96340.0
199724 02840.3
19985 53843.5
199928 68140.2
200014 77643.8
20014 07429.9
200218 54451.3
200349 36649.6
200432 98950.5
200570 83240.6
200615 44939.0
20078 58357.5
20082 59116.6
20094 29462.1
201054 72111.7
2011134 88154.0
201212 26627.8
2013501 03565.8
201410 13954.3
201568 38857.7
20161 128 82837.9
201729 31251.8
201868 25453.6
201910 61654.6

Table 2 
Local referendums. Local referendums by numbers, subject and year

Local referendums. Local referendums by numbers, subject and year
Referendums
TotalAlcoholVariant of the Norwegian languageTerritorialDistrict and identityEnvironmentalOther subjects
1980231470110
19812512121000
19825130010
1983214160100
1984211650000
19854521123900
19863115105010
1987221371100
1988241280400
198913641200
1990241417200
199110073000
19927010600
19937040300
19946041100
19958040400
199611020810
1997150110400
1998170141200
199911036200
2000171150100
20016051000
20025011120
20032601115000
200421066900
200512142140
20069051120
20076050010
20083030000
20094003100
201016092230
201113128200
20128030050
20135021002
20146042000
2015170016010
201620402202000
20178035000
20185023000
20197041020

Table 3 
Local referendums. In compliance with the poll or not, by subject.

Local referendums. In compliance with the poll or not, by subject.1
1970-2019
Refendums processed by municipal councilIn compliance with the poll (referendums)In compliance with the poll (percentage)Not in compliance with the poll (referendums)Not in compliance with the poll, percentage
1The table only contains referndums where information about compliance is registered
Total85777890.8799.2
Alcohol16516398.821.2
Variant of the Norwegian language31429593.9196.1
Territorial30125885.74314.3
District and identity584679.31220.7
Environmental191684.2315.8
Other subjects00..0..

About the statistics

Statistics on local referendums in Norwegian counties and municipalities from 1970 onwards

Definitions

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

Local referendums: Any referendum arranged within the municipality border were the persons entitled to vote have been given the possibility to directly give a statement concerning one single matter, and were the polling result will be used by the municipality or the county as a base for their decision-making in the matter. The referendum may be confined to parts of the municipality or involving the municipality as a whole.

Subject classification: Alcohol: Referendums concerning establishment/close-down of a state monopoly on wine and spirits, beer sale/service and other referendums concerning alcohol.

Variation of the Norwegian language: Referendums concerning which variation of the Norwegian language that should be applied in the primary and lower secondary school.

Territorial: Referendums concerning merging of municipalities, boundaries of municipalities and municipality/county belonging.

District and identity: Referendums concerning changes in the municipalities districts - for instance merging of school districts, construction of new schools or if a school should be closed down. Referendums about identity involve for instance questions about city status and name of municipality or district.

Environmental: Referendums concerning elements of environmental issues. For instance, the establishment of wind mill parks, the development of waterways for energy purpose, road construction and other infrastructure development, the protection of special areas, buildings etc.

Other: Referendums concerning other issues.

Submitted votes: The number of votes should be the same as the number crossed out in the Electoral list. In practical terms this means all valid and rejected votes.

Rejected votes: Votes that in one way or another are not approved or empty envelopes.

Valid votes: The number of approved votes after controls.

Final decision making: If the final decision making in the municipality was in compliance with the poll or not. For instance in cases concerning merging of municipalities, the result is registered as 'in compliance with the poll' if the decision in the actual municipality supported the polling result - even if the other municipality or municipalities decided not to support the polling result, or the central government overruled the decision.

Referendums concerning the municipality as a whole: All inhabitants entitled to vote in the municipality were entitled to participate in the referendum.

Referendums concerning parts of the municipality: Only inhabitants entitled to vote in a certain district or districts were enable to participate in the referendum.

Standard classifications

Municipalities, counties.

Classification of municipalities, centralization: In some tables, the country's municipalities are classifies in 8 different groups based on their business, industry and centrality

Administrative information

Name and topic

Name: Local referendums
Topic: Elections

Responsible division

Division for Population Statistics

Regional level

Municipality level and district level in those municipalities where the persons entitled to vote are limited to inhabitants in specific school districts.

Frequency and timeliness

Every year.

International reporting

Not relevant.

Microdata

Not relevant

Background

Background and purpose

The purpose is to present a summary of local referendums arranged in Norwegian municipalities from 1970 and onwards. Statistics Norway has collected historical data from 1970 to 2007. From 2008 and onwards a yearly collection will take place and the municipalities report directly to Statistics Norway.

The use of consultative local referendums is a more than 100 year long tradition in Norway, especially in regard to referendums concerning licences to serve and sell alcohol and referendums concerning what version of the Norwegian language that should be applied in primary and lower secondary schools. Other subjects like the merging of municipalities and referendums concerning different environmental matters, have been of a more current interest. By an amendment to the Election act and the municipality act in 2008-2009, the municipality’s right to arrange a local referendum was established by law.

Users and applications

The media, researchers, political parties, municipalities and educational institutions are expected to use the statistics.

Equal treatment of users

Not relevant

Coherence with other statistics

Other statistics concerning elections.

Legal authority

Election act and the municipality act § 39 b.

EEA reference

Not relevant.

Production

Population

The statistics comprise results from arranged local referendums in municipalities. Numbers and information concerning the local referendums subject, time, poll alternatives distributed on votes cast in advance, votes cast on election day and total votes cast, if the decision were in compliance with the poll or not, if the referendum concerned the whole municipality or only specific districts, persons entitled to vote, and the voter turnout, are collected. Additionally, information about the voting results divided on valid votes and rejected votes, are collected from 2008 and onwards.

Data sources and sampling

From 2008 and onwards, the data are collected on a yearly basis through KOSTRA - a municipality-state-reporting system.

Postal-forms, including prefilled available information, concerning local referendums arranged prior to 2008, are posted to all municipalities. Municipalities with no available information on arranged local referendums are asked to fill out a form which confirms that they haven't arranged any local referendums in the period from 1970 to 2007.

Post-graduate thesis by Aimée Lind Adamiak, Department of Political Science - University of Oslo: "Lokale folkeavstemninger i Norge - Med særlig vekt på perioden 1970-2000" - published 2001, and information in Nynorsk faktabok 1965-2004 about local referendums concerning the subject version of the Norwegian language.

Total count.

Collection of data, editing and estimations

KOSTRA from 2008 and onwards, postal-form covering the period 1970-2007.

Computerized controls were done when registering the figures, mostly summarizing controls and logic coherence controls. Quality controls and additions were done by the municipalities.

The statistics summarize the reported information. A local referendum is counted as one separate referendum when the persons entitled to vote have the possibility to directly give a statement concerning one single matter.

Seasonal adjustment

Not relevant

Confidentiality

Not relevant.

Comparability over time and space

Statistics for arranged local referendums in Norwegian municipalities are to be found from 1970 and are being published by Statistics Norway for the first time in 2009.

Accuracy and reliability

Sources of error and uncertainty

The data are reported to Statistics Norway via forms for the period 1970-2007. Recording errors and missing information  may occur in the municipalities files. This may lead to incomplete and incorrect data. The municipalities have not been obliged to keep information concerning arranged local referendums. The data collection for this period is based on secondary sources. The data have been through a quality assurance and complementation process in the municipalities, however not all municipalities have gone through this process, and the data from these municipalities are published with reservation. For the whole period from 1970 the number of submitted and rejected votes is uncertain in some municipalities. This is due to inaccuracy in keeping the Election List and errors in the Election Book. Misunderstandings of the concepts rejected voting / rejected vote also occur. Rejected voting occurs when a person appears, but due to different reasons, the voting is not accepted. When this occurs, the person's name should not be marked in the Electoral List and should normally not be included in the statistics. This may however in some cases still be marked in the election protocol and incorretly marked as rejected votes (ballot papers). When revising the votes, submitted and rejected votes in some cases must be adjusted or corrected by judgment, where the municipalities are unable to locate the errors.

Revision

Not relevant

Contact