Forsetakjör - 01.11.1997, Side 25

Forsetakjör 1996
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in the referenda of 1908 (on the prohibition of alcohol
imports) and 1916 (on civil duty work), when the number of
voters on the electoral roll was identical to that for the general
election held at the same time.
Different rules applied to the election of nationally elected
members of the Upper Chamber of the Althingi (who under
the constitutional amendments of 1915 replaced royally
appointed members) on five occasions between 1916 and
1930, as well as in the referendum of 1933 (on the repeal of
the prohibition of alcohol imports). Figures for these elec-
tions have not been included.
Between 1874 and 1903 the nuntber of voters on the
electoral roll was equivalentto 9-10% of the population. The
Constitution of 1874 stipulated that the right to vote was
reserved for males of unblemished character who were
citizens of the Danish BQngdom and had been domiciled in
their constituency for at least one year. Voting rights were
further restricted to the following categories: Farmers having
grazing rights, town citizens paying at least 8 krónur a year
in local govemment tax, independent workers (i. e. non-
farming wage-earners) paying at least 12 krónur a year in
local govemment tax, govemment officials and holders of
certain educational titles. The minimum age for voting was
set at 25 years. The right to vote was withheld from recipients
of community poor relief who had not repaid their financial
support to the authorities or had such a claim rescinded, and
from those declared incompetent to manage their finances.
An amendment to the Constitution in 1903 lowered the
minimum local govemment tax required for suffrage, previ-
ously set at 8 or 12 krónur, to 4 krónur a year and independent
male workers were given the right to vote. In the period
1908-1914 the number of voters on the electoral rol 1 amounted
to 14-15% of the population.
Women and dependent workers (i.e. farm workers and
others who were included in their employer’s household)
gained limited suffrage with the constitutional amendments
of 1915. Their minimum age requirement was set at 40 years
and was to be lowered by one year each year for 15 years,
resulting in equal age limits for all voters by 1930. Further-
more, the local govemment tax requirement of 4 krónur was
abolished. Flowever, being bom in Iceland or having been
domiciled in the country for the past ftve years was made a
new requirement for suffrage. The ratio of voters to the total
population subsequently went up to 30% and gradually
increased in the following years as the minimum age limit for
new voters was progressively lowered.
In 1920, a new Constitution abolished the special age limit
for women and dependent workers. The condition of being
born in Iceland was replaced by the requirement of being an
Icelandic citizen and having had domicile in the country for
the five years immediately prior to the election. The ratio of
voters to the total population then rose to 45%.
A constitutional amendment in 1934 brought down the age
limit for suffrage to 21 years, and acceptance of local govem-
ment assistance no longer precluded the right to vote. Moreo-
ver, the requirement of a domicile in the constituency for one
year or more was abolished. Subsequently, voters became a
majority of the nation for the first time, around 56% of the
population.
Changes in the proportion of voters to the total population
between 1934 and 1967 were caused by demographic devel-
opments. The ratio of voters rose to around 60% in the 1940s
as large cohorts reached voting age. A low in the number of
births in the 1930s meant that small cohorts were added to the
number of voters in the 1950s, and combined with a large
increase in the number of births in the late 1940s and 1950s
this caused a fall in the proportion of voters to 54% of the total
population.
In 1968 the Constitution was amended to lower the mini-
mum voting age to 20 years. The requirements of a five-year
domicile in Iceland before the election and of fmancial
independence were abolished. Henceforth, it was sufficient
to have domicile in the country and not to have been deprived
of legal majority. As a consequence, the proportion of voters
to the population rose to 56%. From that time onwards, the
ratio continued to rise, reaching 64% in the general election
in 1983. This development was caused by changes in the age
distribution of the population, which meant that the number
of people under voting age remained fairly constant while
large cohorts were added to the group of voters.
The right to vote was extended once more in 1984 through
new amendments to the Constitution. The minimum voting age
was lowered from 20 to 18 years. Deprivation of legal majority
no longer caused the loss of the right to vote, and an unblem-
ished character was no longer a condition for voting rights.
Furthermore, voting rights were granted to those who had been
domiciled in Iceland at some time during the four years
immediately prior to the next 1 December before the election.
These changes had their impact first in the general election of
1987 when the ratio of voters to the population rose to 70%
In 1991, the General Elections Act was again amended and
now it states that the right to vote in general elections is held
by every Icelandic citizen who has reached the age of 18 on
election day and is domiciled in Iceland. Furthermore, an
Icelandic citizen who has previously been domiciled in
Iceland has the right to vote for eight years after emigration,
counting from 1 December prior to election day, and shall be
entered on the electoral roll in the municipality of his or her
last domicile in Iceland. Such a citizen also has the right to
vote after this eight-year period has expired, provided he or
she applies to Statistics Iceland to be entered on the electoral
roll. The application form assumes that the applicant declares
his or her Icelandic citizenship. Upon approval, Statistics
Iceland informs the applicant and the municipality con-
cemed. The decision is valid for four years counting from 1
December following the date of application.
Summary 2 shows the proportion of voters domiciled
abroad in elections since 1987. In the presidential election in
1996, 7,766 voters on the electoral roll were domiciled
abroad, equivalent to 4.0% of all voters or 2.9% of the
population. A very large increase in the number of voters
residing abroad between the 1995 and 1996 elections is due
to an unusually high level of emigration during this period.
In addition to the reasons described above, the increase in
the proportion of voters since 1968 can also be explained by
changes in the domicile registration of students abroad.
Icelandic students abroad have normally retained their domi-
cile and voting rights in Iceland. According to the Domicile
Act, students abroad are entitled to keep their domicile in the
municipality where they last resided in Iceland. In 1969, a