Editing Early voting (section)

==Europe==
A 2020 report by the [[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance]] (IDEA) surveyed the use of voting arrangements in Europe, reporting on the prevalence of in-country postal voting, early voting, mobile voting, and proxy voting in various European countries.<ref name=Heinmaa/>

The IDEA report defined ''early voting'', for purposes of the IDEA dataset was defined as "in-person opportunities for submitting one's vote at a polling station before election day", excluding "other early methods that are not in-person (such as postal or e-voting) or that do not take place in a polling station (such as mobile voting)".<ref name=Heinmaa/> Applying this definition, [[Switzerland]], [[Norway]], Sweden, [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], and [[Latvia]] offer early voting to all voters.<ref name=Heinmaa/> [[Iceland]], [[Portugal]], [[Slovenia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], and [[Russia]] offer early voting to some voters.<ref name=Heinmaa/>

The IDEA report defined ''in-country postal voting'', for purposes of its dataset, as "those measures that allow a voter to submit their ballot by physical post to the election administration" and noted that "While postal voting is in principle early voting, it differs in that the vote can be physically submitted remotely by the voter themselves."<ref name=Heinmaa/> Iceland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, [[Poland]], [[Liechtenstein]], and [[Luxembourg]] offer in-country postal voting to all voters.<ref name=Heinmaa/> The [[Republic of Ireland]], Spain, the [[Netherlands]], [[Austria]], Slovenia, and Lithuania offer in-country postal voting to some voters.<ref name=Heinmaa/>

===Finland ===
[[File:Förhandsröstning presidentval TY 2012.jpg|thumb|Early voting in the [[2012 Finnish presidential election]] on the premises of [[University of Turku]], Finland]]

In Finland, eligible voters may cast ballots either on election day or by advance voting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vaalit.fi/en/voting|title=Voting|work=Vaalit.fi|publisher=Finnish Ministry of Justice|access-date=December 4, 2022}}</ref> Advancing voting begins on a Wednesday, eleven days before election day.<ref name=VotingAdvance>{{cite web|url=https://vaalit.fi/en/voting-in-advance|title=Voting in Advance|work=Vaalit.fi|publisher=Finnish Ministry of Justice|access-date=December 4, 2022}}</ref> The advance-voting period ends eight days before election day (for votes cast abroad at designated Finnish embassies) and five days before election day (for votes cast within Finland). Any qualified voter may cast a ballot at a "general advance polling station" (a Finland municipal office or certain post offices and Finnish embassies abroad).<ref name=VotingAdvance/> "Special advance polling stations" are set up at hospitals for patients and prisons for detainees. Additionally, Finnish voters who are unable to travel to advance polling stations due to mobility impairments or illness may cast advance ballots at home (election commissioners make house calls to receive votes from such person). Crews of traveling Finnish ships may also cast ballots via advance voting, beginning 18 days before election day.<ref name=VotingAdvance/>

===Germany===
{{See also|Elections in Germany|Federal Returning Officer}}
Germany does not have in-person early voting, but allows all eligible voters to vote by mail.<ref name=Heinmaa/> Voting by mail was adopted in [[West Germany]] beginning in 1957, but was originally a method mostly used for those with a particular reason preventing them from casting an in-person ballot.<ref name=Schultheis>Emily Schultheis, [https://www.politico.eu/article/postal-voting-germany-election-campaign/ 'Every day is election day.' Rise in postal voting shifts German campaign dynamics], ''Politico.eu'' (August 18, 2021).</ref> The proportion of German voters casting postal ballots has steadily increased since the 1990 [[reunification of Germany]], and the excuse requirement was eliminated in 2008.<ref name=Schultheis/> In the [[2005 German federal election]], 19% of all voters voted early.<ref>[http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahl2005/downloads/Heft_5.pdf Der Bundeswahlleiter: Wahl zum 16. Deutschen Bundestag am 18. September 2005, Heft 5: Textliche Auswertung der Wahlergebnisse] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225194921/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahl2005/downloads/Heft_5.pdf |date=February 25, 2007 }}, page 38, table 15 (in German)</ref> In the [[2017 German federal election]], a then-record 28.6% of voters cast ballots by mail.<ref name=Schultheis/> In the [[2021 German federal election]], 47.3% of voters cast ballots by mail, setting a new record.<ref>Jasmin Fitzpatrick & Paula Jöst, [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.876476/full "The High Mass of Democracy" —Why Germany Remains Aloof to the Idea of Electronic Voting], ''Frontiers in Political Science'' (2022).</ref>

===Ireland ===
{{See also|Elections in the Republic of Ireland}}
In the [[Republic of Ireland]], it is traditional for voters on the remote coastal islands to vote on the day prior to the official date of the election.<ref>{{cite news|title=Island voting in Election 2016 commences one day early|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/island-voting-in-election-2016-commences-one-day-early-1.2548412|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=February 25, 2016 |access-date=November 3, 2016}}</ref> This aims to avoid the possibility that bad weather might impede the delivery of ballot boxes to the count center on the mainland. However, the practice is not universally popular.<ref>{{cite news|title='Down with this sort of thing', say islanders forced to vote day early|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/down-with-this-sort-of-thing-say-islanders-forced-to-vote-day-early-34487614.html|access-date=November 3, 2016|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=February 26, 2016}}</ref>

===Norway ===
In [[Norway]] early voting is known as "forhåndsstemming". By law, election day is set to a Monday in September in the year of the end of the current term. Early voting is usually opened 1 month before election day, and closes the Friday before. Up to and including the Friday, everyone can vote anywhere in the country. On election day, voting has to occur within the municipality the voter is a resident of by the end of June.

At the general election of 2009, 707,489 Norwegians voted in advance, 200 000 more than the previous record, in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/krd/pressesenter/pressemeldinger/2009-2/-har-forhandsstemt.html?id=576794 |title=707 489 har forhåndsstemt |publisher=Regjeringen.no |date=September 11, 2009 |access-date=October 29, 2012}}</ref>

The share that do early voting has steadily increased and in the national elections in 2021, 57.9% of votes cast were early votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://valgresultat.no/valg/2021/st |title=Election results |publisher=Valgresultat.no |access-date=2023-12-31}}</ref> With 1.7 million early voters.

===Sweden ===
[[File:Advancevotinglocationmalmoe.JPG|thumb|Early voting station in a supermarket in Malmö during the [[2009 European Parliament election in Sweden|European Parliament election 2009]].]]
Sweden has traditionally had a high participation in elections and tries to make it as easy as possible to vote. No voter registration is needed, since everyone is generally [[population registration in Sweden|registered with a home address]], nor is there any requirement to tell the authorities that you intend to vote early. Normally, a voter is expected to vote on the election day at the specified voting station, but everyone can vote during the last week at any early voting station in the country, nowadays usually in municipality-owned places like libraries or schools. Although mainly intended for early voting, one early voting station in each municipality must also be open on the election day (always a Sunday in Sweden), to enable distance voting on that day as well. In hospitals and homes for the elderly, there are special voting opportunities. Swedes living abroad must register their address and can vote at embassies or through mail.<ref>[http://www.val.se/in_english/general_information/voting/index.html Valmyndigheten: Voting] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023114808/http://www.val.se/in_english/general_information/voting/index.html |date=October 23, 2012 }}</ref>

Early voting has been possible in Sweden since 1942, and the [[Posten (Sweden)|post offices]] were used for this until the [[1994 Swedish general election]]. But that year the Swedish postal service was changed from being a government agency to a state-owned limited company that wasn't directly government controlled, so the responsibility for providing early voting fell on the local municipalities, who have always been responsible for the regular voting stations.

The early votes are sent to the voter's regular local voting station in double envelopes, with the voter's name and [[Personal identity number (Sweden)|personal identity number]] on the outer envelope. After the local voting station has closed on election day, officials first check if any of the voters in the stack of early voter envelopes are in the list of voters who have voted at the voting station that day. If that is the case, the early vote is destroyed, with the inner envelope unopened. Otherwise, the inner envelopes are added to a ballot box for counting.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.val.se/det_svenska_valsystemet/rostning/fortidsrosta/index.html |title=Valmyndigheten: Förtidsrösta i Sverige |access-date=November 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023113443/http://www.val.se/det_svenska_valsystemet/rostning/fortidsrosta/index.html |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Early votes that do not reach the voting station in time are shipped to the [[County Administrative Boards of Sweden|County Administrative Board]] and counted if the voter has not already voted.

===Switzerland ===
{{main|Voting in Switzerland}}
Swiss federal law allows [[postal voting]] in all federal elections and referendums,<ref>{{cite swiss law|sr=161.1|link=161_1|art=8|en=Federal Statute on Political Rights}}</ref> and all [[Swiss cantons|cantons]] allow it for cantonal ballot issues. All voters receive their personal ballot by mail a few weeks before the election or referendum. They may cast it at a polling station on election day or mail it back at any prior time.