Local referendums

Updated: 19 June 2023

Next update: Not yet determined

Local referendums held
Local referendums held
2022
7
Numbers of local referendums in Norwegian municipalities, last four years by category
Numbers of local referendums in Norwegian municipalities, last four years by category
Referendums
2019202020212022
Total7187
Alcohol0000
Variant of the Norwegian language4141
Territorial1036
District and identity0000
Environmental2000
Other subjects0010
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Local referendums. Voter turnout by per cent and year
    Local referendums. Voter turnout by per cent and year
    Persons entitled to votePercentage voter turnout
    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
    20204 47717.4
    202130 30439.2
    2022376 53946.0
    Explanation of symbols
  • 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
    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
    20201010000
    20218043001
    20227016000
    Explanation of symbols
  • Local referendums. In compliance with the poll or not, by subject.
    Local referendums. In compliance with the poll or not, by subject.1
    1970-2022
    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
    Total87579190.5849.5
    Alcohol16516398.821.2
    Variant of the Norwegian language32029993.4216.6
    Territorial31026585.84514.3
    District and identity584679.31220.7
    Environmental211781.0419.0
    Other subjects11100.000.0
    1The table only contains referndums where information about compliance is registered
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

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

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.

Name: Local referendums
Topic: Elections

Not yet determined

Division for Population Statistics

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

Every year

Not relevant

Not relevant

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.

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

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

Other statistics concerning elections

Statistics Act § 10, election act and the municipality act § 16-1.

Not relevant

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.

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.

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.

Not relevant

Not relevant

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.

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.

Not relevant

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