Hagskýrslur um kosningar - 01.01.1988, Blaðsíða 24

22
Forsclakjör 1988
election day. In 1983 the right was extended to
those who for religious reasons could not vote on
election day. As from 1987 a reason for absentee
voting need not be stated.
Absentee voting can take place at the office of
a town or county magistrate, at the office or home
of his communal representatíves, and on board an
Icelandic ship, provided the captain has received
the necessary papers and the voter is a registered
crew member. Overseas absentee votíng can take
place at Icelandic embassies, permanent missions
and consulates general, as well as honorary consu-
lates as decided by the Ministry for Foreign Af-
fairs before each election. The rules on places for
absentee voting places were eased in 1974, where-
by absentee votíng can be conducted by honorary
consuls who do not speak Icelandic, and magis-
trates may conduct absentee voting at hospitals
and homes for the aged for patients and inmates.
Inthereferendaofl918andl944ontheUnion
Treaty and the Constitution, voters were allowed
to cast absentee votes at home in cases of old age
orill health. The same provisions were introduced
before the general election of 1923, but abolished
in 1924 for fear of misuse. According to earlier
electoral laws, absentee votes had to be received
by the polling station where the voter was regis-
tered, before it closed on election day. This was
changed in the General Elections Act of 1959, to
the effect that it is now sufficient for absentee
votes to reach any polling statíon in the constitu-
ency before closing time. Such votes shall be for-
warded separately to the constituency electoral
committee. In the presidential election of 1988
804 votes were received in this way.
Main table 1 on pp. 25-30 shows the number
of absentee votes cast by voters registered in each
commune. The total numberof absentee votes was
16,988, or 13.4 per cent of the total number of
votes cast. Introduction table 5 on p. 15 shows this
ratio as from 1916.
In 1988 9,193 absentee votes, or 54.1 percent
of the total, were cast by women. Summary table
5 on p. 15 shows that there were high proportions
of absentee voting among women in 1918, 1923
and 1944. This was due to voting at home only.
The 1988 presidential election is the first time
there has been a higher level of regular absentee
votíng among women than among men.
Summary table 3 on p. 14 compares absentee
voting between constituencies, and summary
table 6 on p. 16 shows the absolute number of
absentee votes by constítuencies and sex, includ-
ing votes sent directly to the constítuency electoral
committee.
5. Voting on election day in a polling area
other than that of registration
A voter is entítled to vote in any polling area in
his constituency, provided he presents to the elec-
toral committee of the polling area where he or she
intends to vote a certificate, issued by the electoral
committee in his polling area of registration, to the
effect of his being registered as a voter and having
relinquished his right to vote there. This option be-
came effectíve in the 1916 general election, and
was exercised then by 2.9 p>er cent of those who
voted. At that tíme and until the summer electíon
of 1959, these were to some extent absentee votes
which could not reach the polling area of registra-
tíon before closing time. In later electíons the use
of this right has diminished to very small percent-
ages. In the presidential election of 1988, a total of
35 persons voted in a different commune within
their constítuency, or 0.05 per cent of those partici-
pating (Reykjavík, as a single-commune constítu-
ency, is excluded from the calculation of the ratio).
A total of 68 persons, or 0.08 per cent, exercised
the right to vote in a different polling area within
their home commune (single-polling area com-
munes are excluded from the calculation). Of
these, 63 voted at a polling station in Reykjavík
with special facilities for handicapped voters.
Summary tableóonp. 16 shows the number of
votes cast in a different polling area in the 1988
presidential election in each constituency, by sex,
and summary table 3 on p. 14 shows them as a
proportion of the total number of votes.
6. Outcome of the election
The result of the presidential election in 1988
was: Mrs. Sigrún Thorsteinsdóttir received 6,712
votes and Mrs. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir received
117,292 votes. Mrs. Vigdfs Finnbogadóttir was
duly elected President of Iceland for the period
August 1, 1988, until July 31, 1992.
Main table 2 on p. 31 shows the election results
by constituencies, including blank and void bal-
lots, as well as the percentage shares of the candi-
dates. Summary table 8 on p. 18 shows the results
of all four presidential elections in Iceland. Sum-
mary table 3 on p. 14 shows the proportion of blank
and void ballots in each constituency, and sum-
mary table 7 on p. 17 shows the their number and
proportion in each election since 1908, when the
secret ballot was introduced.