Requirements for ID control during voting

The plan is built on the fact that political democracy must be broadened and that the people's power rests on universal, free and fair elections. An absolute identification requirement would in practice exclude eligible voters who lack ID documents, which clashes with the commitment that public authority should be guided by all people's equal worth and that everyone should be able to exercise their right to vote. The plan gives no support for sharpening formal requirements in this way.

• universal and free electionsdecisive»Folkets politiska makt över staten ska utövas av riksdagen, tillsatt genom allmänna, fria och rättvisa val« (party programme ↗)“The people's political power over the state shall be exercised by the Riksdag, established through universal, free and fair elections”
• all people's equal worth»Den offentliga maktutövningen ska vägledas av alla människors lika värde.« (party programme ↗)“Public authority shall be guided by all people's equal worth.”
• voting rights require accessibility»Det handlar om allt ifrån att ha arbete och försörjning, vara med i ett fotbollslag och använda sin rösträtt till att ta en fika på stan.« (party programme ↗)“It is about everything from having work and livelihood, being part of a football club and exercising your right to vote to having a coffee in town.”
• expanded democracy»Vi vill bygga vidare på Sveriges demokratisering.« (party programme ↗)“We want to build on Sweden's democratization.”

The plan's fundamental commitment is universal and equal voting rights and equal opportunities to participate in democracy. An absolute identification requirement risks excluding voters, not least in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas where electoral participation is already low. The plan wants to protect democratic institutions, but does so through broader participation rather than through raised thresholds at ballot reception. Therefore the counter-proposal's requirement is rejected.

• universal and equal voting rightsdecisive»Allmän och lika rösträtt.« (party programme ↗)“Universal and equal voting rights.”
• equality before the law»En rättsordning som bygger på allas likhet inför lagen.« (party programme ↗)“A legal order based on everyone's equality before the law.”
• protected democratic institutions»De demokratiska institutionerna måste skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“Democratic institutions must be protected.”
• broad popular participation»Livskraftiga folkrörelser för att hålla ihop samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Vibrant popular movements to hold society together.”

The plan puts broad and equal participation in democracy at the centre and wants to remove obstacles that shut people out of influence. An absolute ID requirement would exclude voters entitled to vote who lack ID documents, which goes against the commitment that everyone shall have the same opportunity to participate and that all discrimination shall be countered. The plan does not explicitly mention ID checks when voting, so the position is derived from its democracy and equal treatment principles. The counter-proposal's requirement is thus rejected.

• protect democracy and minority rightsdecisive»Det fria ordet, minoriteters rättigheter och skydd mot diskriminering är viktiga för demokratisk utveckling, tillsammans med en stark och oberoende rättsstat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Free speech, minority rights and protection against discrimination are important for democratic development, together with a strong and independent constitutional state.”
• equal opportunity to participate»Människor med funktionsnedsättningar ska ha samma möjlighet att delta i samhället« (party programme ↗)“People with disabilities shall have the same opportunity to participate in society”
• government by the people requires broad participation»Demokrati betyder folkstyre.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy means government by the people.”
• counter all discrimination»Alla former av diskriminering ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“All forms of discrimination shall be countered.”

The plan establishes that liberal democracy shall be cared for and that democratic institutions need protection, but its core line is rights-focused: the individual's position against the state shall be defended and everyone's equal rights valued. An absolute authentication requirement when voting exists nowhere in the plan and would bar eligible voters from a basic democratic right. The plan therefore argues against the counter-proposal's requirement.

• care for liberal democracydecisive»Den liberala demokratin får aldrig tas för given. Den ska vårdas, värnas och vidareutvecklas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Liberal democracy must never be taken for granted. It must be cared for, protected and developed”
• everyone's equal rights and value»Alla människor har lika rätt och värde, alla har samma grundläggande rättigheter och skyldigheter.« (party programme ↗)“All people have equal rights and value, everyone has the same basic rights and duties.”
• no to rights-restricting measures»Rättsstaten och individens rättigheter gentemot staten måste försvaras. Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The rule of law and individual rights against the state must be defended. We therefore say no to stop-and-search zones, collective punishment, reversed burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive surveillance and restrictions on religious freedom.”
• protection for democratic institutions»Våra demokratiska institutioner behöver skydd. Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions need protection. We want to make it harder to change the constitution, protect the opposition's position in the Riksdag and strengthen the independence of the courts.”

The plan says nothing about ID requirements for voting. The nearest principle is the liberal tradition of universal and equal suffrage and that voter power shall be strengthened, which speaks against a rule that risks excluding eligible voters. Without support in the documents for an absolute ID requirement, the assessment lands in that the plan does not bear the counter-proposal's demand.

• universal and equal suffragedecisive»Det var den liberala statsministern Nils Edén som åstadkom att parlamentarism och allmän och« (party programme ↗)“It was the liberal Prime Minister Nils Edén who brought about that parliamentarism and universal and”
• strengthened voter power»För att förstärka väljarens makt ska procentspärrarna i personvalet sänkas, så att fler av ett partis« (party programme ↗)“To strengthen voter power, percentage barriers in personal voting shall be lowered, so that more of a party's”
• citizen-driven democracy»Ansvaret för demokratins fortlevnad ligger ytterst hos medborgarna själva.« (party programme ↗)“Responsibility for democracy's survival ultimately rests with the citizens themselves.”

The plan does not address voter identification, but requires that the electoral system be designed so that each vote is in principle accorded equal value, that ballot secrecy is protected and that complaints about the correctness of elections can be examined. A requirement for identity verification protects precisely the correctness of voting and thus the equality between votes. The conclusion is derived from general principles and the uncertainty is therefore considerable.

• each vote equal valuedecisive»Valsystemet ska vara proportionellt och därmed utformat så att varje röst i princip tillmäts lika värde.« (party programme ↗)“The electoral system shall be proportional and thus designed so that each vote is in principle accorded equal value.”
• correctness of elections can be examined»En annan viktig uppgift ska vara att pröva klagomål angående riktigheten av allmänna val och därmed sammanhängande frågor.« (party programme ↗)“Another important task shall be to examine complaints concerning the correctness of general elections and related matters.”
• protected ballot secrecy»Valhemligheten ska skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“Ballot secrecy shall be protected.”
• everyone's opportunity for participation»Det ideal som kristdemokraterna framhäver är en demokrati där varje medborgare ges möjligheter till deltagande, inflytande och delaktighet« (party programme ↗)“The ideal that the Christian Democrats emphasize is a democracy where every citizen is given opportunities for participation, influence and involvement”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan places great emphasis on establishing who lives in Sweden and on stopping identity fraud, including through a census and requirements for personal appearance to confirm coordination numbers. An absolute identification requirement for voting is the same kind of identity control and strengthens the robustness of a central public process. The plan thus comes closest to the counter-proposal's demands, even though voting is not addressed explicitly.

• established identitydecisive»Ett viktigt första steg är att fastställa vilka som lever i Sverige och att stoppa fusket med tillfälliga personnummer – samordningsnummer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“An important first step is to establish who lives in Sweden and to stop fraud with temporary personal numbers – coordination numbers.”
• personal identity control»Kräva personlig inställelse för att bekräfta samordningsnummer, annars ska det återkallas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Require personal appearance to confirm coordination numbers, otherwise it shall be withdrawn”
• control over the population register»Genomföra en nationell folkräkning för att stoppa bidragsbrotten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conduct a national census to stop benefit fraud”
• law-governed and predictable order»All offentlig maktutövning ska vara lagstyrd och vägledas av« (party programme ↗)“All public use of power shall be governed by law and guided by”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that the Swedish electoral system is strengthened so that general elections can be guaranteed to be conducted reliably. An absolute ID requirement for voting is a direct application of that commitment and addresses the risk of identity fraud. The plan moreover emphasizes that only citizens have the right to vote, which requires secure identification at the polling station.

• reliable electionsdecisive»Det svenska valsystemet bör stärkas för att garantera att allmänna val kan genomföras på ett tillförlitligt sätt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Swedish electoral system should be strengthened to guarantee that general elections can be conducted reliably.”
• voting rights only for citizens»Endast svenska medborgare skall ha rösträtt i allmänna val.« (party programme ↗)“Only Swedish citizens shall have the right to vote in general elections.”
• equal voting rights»att likhet inför lagen och allmän och lika rösträtt för medborgare skall råda« (party programme ↗)“that equality before the law and universal and equal voting rights for citizens shall prevail”