Local referendums, 2011

The subjects addressed in the referendums varied. Most of them, in total 8, concerned territorial issues. 2003 and 1990 are the only years where the numbers held in this category surpassed previous years. Furthermore, two referendums about what variant of the Norwegian language is preferable in primary and lower secondary schools were held in 2011. Two were categorised as district and identity issues, while one was about alcohol issues. In total, Statistics Norway has registered 708 local referendums held concerning different issues from 1970 to 2011.

Referendum about a merger of counties

All the municipalities in Aust-Agder county took part in the advisory referendum in 2011 concerning a merger with the neighbouring Vest-Agder county. A total of 85 300 were entitled to vote and the voter turnout was 60.4 per cent. This is the most comprehensive local referendum held in Norway both in terms of numbers of inhabitants entitled to vote and voter turnout. Nearly two-thirds of the voters voted against the merger proposition.

In addition to the referendum mentioned above, and on the condition that the result of the county referendum was no to a merger, three of the southernmost bordering municipalities to Vest-Agder arranged individual referendums about a change of county. In total, about 70 per cent of the voters in these municipalities voted for a change in county. An application for a change of county to Vest-Agder was send to the county governor in Aust-Agder and forwarded for further processing to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. The voter turnout in these referendums varied from 56.1 per cent in Birkenes to 62.1 per cent in Iveland.

Major variations in the voter turnout

The voter turnout in the referendums held in 2011 varied from 9.2 per cent in Re municipality to 73.1 per cent in a referendum in Finnøy municipality. In Re the persons entitled to vote were asked whether the municipality actively should work towards a municipality merger in the next 4-year period, and in Finnøy they were asked about an adjustment of the municipality border. Compared to the average voter turnout in referendums held during the 2000s, the turnout in the 2011 referendums was about 10 percentage points higher.

Nine of the referendums held last year were arranged together with the municipal council and county council election. The voter turnout in eight of these surpassed 56 per cent, and in four of them it surpassed 60 per cent. The voter turnout in the municipal council and county council election was 64.5 per cent.

As in 2010, some of the referendums were part of the official “E-election project” to test the administration of the election system, where electronic voting via the Internet is an option. The referendum in Re municipality, the referendum in Radøy where the inhabitants were asked whether the municipality should join a new municipality in the district of Nordhordland, and a referendum concerning a question about the official status of Tynset as a town were all part of this project. These had substantial lower voter turnouts than the other local referendums. If we keep the e-election referendums separate, the voter turnout for the remaining referendums in 2011 increases from 54 to 58.8 per cent.

Advisory referendum about the election of a mayor

The national testing with directly elected mayors for selected municipalities ended with the election in 2007, but Nesodden municipality council chose to continue pursuing this system with an advisory referendum in the 2011 election. In total, 13 300 inhabitants were entitled to vote for one of the eight candidates. The voter turnout was 57.9 per cent.

All referendums held in Norway are advisory referendums. The voters’ voice has been taken into account when the municipality council addresses the various subjects in about nine out of ten of the referendums held since 1970. The referendum held in Nesodden differs from the majority when the alternative that most of the voters chose did not make the majority in the municipality’s final processing of the subject. The same was the case in the referendum held in Finnøy municipality.

Majority vote for continued beer monopoly

Since 1970, referendums about what variant of the Norwegian language to choose have dominated, with a total of 44 per cent of the referendums registered. Further, one out of four have been about various questions concerning the regulation of alcohol, and 98 per cent of these were held between 1970 and 1989. The one held in Fauske municipality last year was only the fourth arranged about alcohol since 1990. In this one, eligible voters were asked whether the monopoly shop for beers should continue to exist or whether ordinary grocery shops should be allowed to sell beer. A similar referendum was arranged in 2005, and also the result in 2011 showed a majority of 50.3 per cent to continue the monopoly (compared to 56.9 per cent in 2005).

Tables:

• Table 1 Local referendums 2011. Referendums in 2011 and previous experiences with local referendums by persons entitled to vote, subject and number of elections 2000-2011. Compared with the county and the country as a whole
• Table 2 Local referendums 1970-2011. Voter turnout in percentage, by decade and year
• Table 3 Local referendums 1970-2011. Persons entitled to vote and voter turnout, by county and municipality
• Table 4 Local referendums 1970-2011. Number of local referendums, by subject, decade and year
• Table 5 Local referendums 1970-2011. Number of local referendums, by county and subject
• Table 6 Local referendums 1970-2011. Voter turnout in percentage, by subject
• Table 7 Local referendums 1970-2011. Decision in compliance with the poll or not, by subject