Missing ballot papers disrupt early voting for small parties in Sweden
During the first day of early voting for Sweden's 2026 elections, ballot papers for several minor parties vanished from polling stations in Malmö and Järfälla, prompting complaints from party officials.
Early voting for Sweden's 2026 national, regional and municipal elections began on August 26, but within hours small parties discovered that their printed ballot papers were missing from booths in Malmö and Järfälla. Malmölistan's Nils Littorin posted a video showing empty slots for his party and the Örebro Party, while Medborgerlig Samling deputy leader Mikael Flink described the Järfälla situation as organized and systematic.
Both parties asked voters to mark a blank ballot with the party name when pre-printed sheets were unavailable. The Swedish Election Authority has labeled missing ballots as an election incident and opened a dedicated reporting form, noting that similar problems were recorded in the 2022 election. Smaller parties must supply and distribute their own ballots, so any loss immediately reduces their visibility and hampers voter access.
