Ben Hamilton
November 21st, 2017

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D-Day today

Voting may be underway in Denmark’s local and regional elections, but the campaigning hasn’t stopped – or at least it would be unwise for any candidates to pack away the flyers just yet, contends Roger Buch from Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole.

“It would be like running a marathon race and stopping one kilometre short of the finish line,” he told Metroxpress, pointing out that every tenth voter leaves it until election day to choose a party/candidate, so there are plenty of votes up for grabs.

Targeting the casual turn-ups
“In other countries, such as France, it is forbidden to carry on conducting your election campaign on election day itself,” observed Buch. “There is a strong conviction that the politicians have had their say and that voters must now be left in peace to decide.”

Research proves that candidates who keep on campaigning on election day are rewarded, contends Buch. The same 10 percent, he says, tend to be those who might be deterred from voting for various reasons – for example, because of bad weather.

Slow queues in Nørrebro
Another reason could be slow queues. Already today, many have given up on voting this morning after enduring long delays at Guldberg Skole in Nørrebro.

The long wait was caused by a faulty electronic system, which eventually led to the polling station resorting to a handwritten alternative, reports Ekstra Bladet.

Polling stations close at 20:00 this evening, so there is still plenty of time to cast your vote. Find out more here.

Bornholm mayor the most popular
Meanwhile, in related news, Bornholm’s Winni Grosbøll is apparently the most popular mayor in Denmark, according to a Voxmeter survey reported by Metroxpress.

The Socialdemokratiet mayor registered a 70 percent approval with respondents, with the mayors of Ballerup, Herlev, Gentofte and Roskilde joint second on 67 percent.