Voting in Denmark as a Foreigner / American in Denmark
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 гру 2021
- Hi! I'm Kelly, an American living in Denmark. I absolutely recommend checking out Ana Luisa ❤️ shop.analuisa.com/ta-danishlife
They are currently running the biggest sale of the year: End the year on a high note: 10% off and last chance items with up to 60% off! I know you will love them! #analuisany
In this video, I tell you all about my experience voting for the first time in Denmark as a foreigner. I give you more details about Danish politics, as well as tell you what I did to prepare for voting day in Denmark.
Please SHARE this video with others! That would be very nice of you! :)
Blog post mentioned in this video:
Voting in Denmark as a Foreigner: mynewdanishlife.com/voting-in...
Do you want to support My New Danish Life? You can "Buy me a Donut" at buymeacoffee.com/?via=mynewdanishlife!! Thanks for your support!
I would love for you to join the My New Danish Life community! :)
*If you are using MOBILE, get to these links by visiting the "ABOUT" tab at the top right of your phone screen!*
Follow me for more behind-the-scenes looks at my life in Denmark
📚BLOG: www.mynewdanishlife.com/
🌼Instagram: / my_new_danish_life
🌺Facebook: / mynewdanishlife
🐦Pinterest: / mynewdanishlife
🕊️Twitter: / danishnew
✨TikTok: / my_new_danish_lif
Are you interested in working with me to promote your brand, product or destination? Contact me at: mynewdanishlife.com@gmail.com
My New Danish Life is a lifestyle and travel blog and UA-cam channel telling about my American life in Denmark. I love to share my thoughts with you to help bridge a gap between two cultures and see just how we can all learn from each other! Thanks for watching!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I will make a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thanks for your support!
When my kids turned 18, we went to the library & took one pamflet from each political party.
At home, I told them to read each pamflet, put checks where you agree with the party on...enviroment, schools, transportation etc....
Take the 5 pamflets with the most checks and re-read them..put more checks, if necessary
Pick your final 3 with the most checks, read them one more time and make your choice
I did this 8 different times with my kids and foster kids, everyone made their own informed choices and voted, knowing exactly what they wanted!
It worked perfectly 👍
hello from Hundested 🌸❄
at a lokal election there can be a lot of local lists, which are not the same as a political party. Often just based on a singel issue. ex location of wind turbines
My first time voting as a foreigner in Denmark was very much like what you describe. I felt a bit overwhelmed and rushed by all the parties and candidates and prepared the best I could. The good thing is that the experience encouraged me to stay more attentive to Danish politics since, and this year I felt more confident about my choices. Getting an online subscription to one of the major newspapers helped loads too.
The most interesting part (and confusing/complicated) was actually after the votes are counted to see how the results translate into who actually ends up in power. For an American, it is byzantine. I’m looking forward to your video explaining THAT! ;-)
If you vote, you show interest in Denmark. That tells us "locals" 😀 a lot about your character (in a good way). It's not about who you vote for, but that you do! You and Kelly are "keepers" 👍😍👍
I'm a Dane living in France, and I have voted in France for local elections (regional and city) - Just like how it is in Denmark, as a foreigner I am not eligible to vote in the national elections (Presidential or Referendums). In France there are also a lot of parties and candidates to vote for, so the list of "boxes" to choose from is quite long here also, except here I don't get a massive paper ballot with a long list, instead I have to tick my box on a voting machine (It is best if you have made your decision in advance, as the interface on the voting machines is sluggish). The weird thing with French elections is that they also have a ceremonial element to them - for an example, there is an announcer whose sole job is to proclaim when someone is about to vote and when someone is done casting their vote. I was blown away the first time I heard the announcer is yell "Mr. FULL NAME is approaching the ballot!" and then "Mr. FULL NAME has cast his vote!", and next to the announcer is a person that is noting down the announcements word for word - sort of like a stenographer in a courtroom.
If you loose of forget your voting card, they will create one for you at the polling station - after you show an ID with a picture, drivers license, passport etc..
They need to do so because one of the control checks is that the sum of voting cards recieved and the unused ballots must be 1.000 at all times at each line or "valgbord" (voting table). Every valgbord starts off with 1.000 ballots (in this case 2 times 1.000).
Glad that this makes you feel included. Apart from voting beeing a right (not a privilige) these elections are also supposed to be an introduction to Danish politics for foreigners living here on a permanent basis.
Hi. I’ve voted in Denmark as a foreigner before. This year I volunteered as a poll worker here in Copenhagen. It was a VERY long day from 8am to after midnight because the counting seems to go on forever once the polls closed, but it was a good atmosphere.
BTW, Non-Danish residents from EU countries can also vote in the Danish European Parliament elections.
Thank (what ever you believe in) for people like you 👍! I'm Danish and I'd never wanna do the poll working thing. So Tusind Tak for det 😊 !
Tom. Your a good man! Thank you for taking a very vital part in our (and your) Society 👍😊👍 !
I’ve done that duty too. The experience is so so different from place to place. There’s a couple of people I will never be working with again but some are so nice. It’s hard work and it should be a fun and interesting experience.
I'm glad to hear that you have had a good experience as a first time voter in this little country of ours. Exercising your right to vote means full participation and inclusion not only on a symbolic level but also in tangible terms.
Thanks so much for taking part in our democracy.👍 I think you were far more well- prepared than many Danes.😏 I'm always looking forward to your comments and hope you'll stay here forever 😊, no matter which party you voted for😉. As far as I know the US is very divided politically, especially during and in the aftermath of the Trump administration. As I see it, one of the positive things about Denmark is, that we normally are able to accept, socialize and be friends with people of different political views.All my best and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Dear Kelly. Voting is not just your right or a privilege. It's your duty as a Citizen (Danish or Foreign 👍 ). Kelly! Every country has it's fair share of Idiots, who don't believe that there's room for folks from other countries. If you contribute to Danish Society, there's always room and a place for you here, so just ignore them and shrug it off 👍😊👍 ! Merry X-mas 🎄
Yeah! Your right! It's not a "legal" duty! But I feel it as a personal one (If you want to be part of our society) ! So "My BAD"😔 ! How I see it. You can't complain, if your not willing to vote, and try to make changes! Kurt! I respect your input!
@@KurtFrederiksen I mostly agree with you! But I have friends in the US. Pre - Corona, I'd go every second year. My friends in "New England" or "Texas" are neither stupid or dumb. There actually well traveled. Yeah. My friends in Texas are Republicans (not one myself), but they don't watch "Fox News". My friends in Boston and Maine are mostly Democrats. They all get along! Kurt! In general Americans, are good people! I'm not gonna Highjack Kelly's post for a politic debate! Ønsker dig en Glædelig Jul og et lykkebringende godt Nytår!
Important to vote! It makes me sad if you don`t feel welcome here or appreciated. I wish you and youre family a Happy Christmas :-D
Here in 2021 we have 16 parties in Folketinget (National Parliament). 12 parties from Denmark, 2 from Faroe Islands and 2 from Greenland.
#MyNewDanishLife Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/God Jul :-)
Thanks for your vote. Democracy is a fragile state of civilisation, and we need it to work, to give the people a voice, and a veto on rare occasions..
About the feeling of estrangement, and the senses of being paralysed as a citizen and human in a country where you need to be. The feeling is not that dissimilar to a ordinary Dane moving to another region. The main advantage is the language of course, but it may actually chok a little, when I say even Danish settlers are not, in the inner hemisphere of anyone local just on face value.. It takes years to acclimatize and be accepted, so the kids usually do the groundwork to connecting with the locals.
But would it surprise you if I told you, that I was born and raised in a small community. And even though I was born locally in the town hospital, and my father was a real prolific citizen. Even then you are not safe from the feeling of estrangement esc, because we basically still live in the 50ies in the small community's here in Denmark. The local Patriotism is some places almost medieval and backwards. I'm not kidding you.. if you are not at least 4th generation local, and have access to about 10% of the graveyard, then you are not the same as your general townie.. Not even winning the tour de France gives you any goodwill, just ask bjarne riss 😊
So for a few of us who have been treated like this, we are able to understand exactly what you talk about..
Thanks for all of the content! 😊
I started studying in Kolding this year and your videos have helped me adapt to everything super well, especially the Danish birthday song video 😂
Mange tak for this video! I didn’t know this so I found it very interesting. God dag & god jul to you and your family 😊🎄
Not only is it a linie of left-->right. But importently also an up-->down. The up-->down represent the difference between authoritarian and libertarian. Looking at the differences between danish and US political parties. The is a huge gab, not only in the left/right, but imo even more so in the authoritarian/libertarian. With US politics being centered far more towards the authoritarian right. And danish politics being more towards the middle or even a bit left/libertarian.
Just to be clear, thats 4 directions. And a political party (or you as a person) can be anywhere in the XY- coordinate system
So glad you enjoyed the process and excercised your constitutional right to vote! Well done Kelly! 👍
Obviously if you think about it, it's not crazy that you are only allowed to make one choice per ballot. Now you can either out and 'X' for a candidate, or for the political party. If you choose the party, then the party will - as far as I know - make sure their strongest candidates get the required number of votes according to their position on the ballot...
I think one of your....challenges shall we say re your political stance in the U.S., is that you only have 2 parties....and of course independants who have NO influence politically unless they are the deciding vote. Here, as you said there are so many parties where your stance is represented by more than one - often several. In this case you might have to choose the party which matches your most important p.o.v.
Most parties use "sidestillet" where the candidates gets ranked according to the number of personal votes.
So it is not uncommon that candidates down on the list end up with more personal votes than candidates near the top.
But some use "party list" where the party rank the candidates, is even if number 3 got more personal voters than number 1 and 2, then 1 and 2 would still get a seat before number 3.
There are some good arguments for both systems. Enhedslisten use party list and SF also do sometimes.
(it is up to the local party organization)
One of your most interesting videos imho. I think it's great that foreigners can vote for parties or specific politicians on two levels of government. It might involve or at least inform them more - if they care.
And the act of voting is so easy. 👏🏻
In some states in the US - if I've understood correctly - it's at least just as easy to vote as here in DK. 👏🏻(Things could change ofc ).
My extremely apolitical husband always does a test before voting. He finds the 2 most important topics (for him) and wrote the candidates about them. He could then rule out the once who didn’t respond or reply. The very few who actually cared enough to write him back he would then compare his thoughts, experiences and visions solving the issues. It’s actually crazy how few will actually respond to voters at all. It’s off putting and makes them look bad.
Personally I find it incredibly important that as many people are eligible to vote is because it strengthens democracy and I find it an organic part of living in a society to participate in the decision making.
Hej Kelly... It is interesting that political parties are represented even at the local municipal and regional (AMT) levels in Danmark. In many parts of the world, political parties are usually only voted for in the state (provincial) and federal levels only.
Dejlig video skønt du tager demokratiet alvorligt Det skal vi passe godt på 🥰
Here in Sweden we shifted more toward using Gal-Tan scale instead of just left-right. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum (image en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum#/media/File:Political_Compass_standard_model.svg )
There are three scales, minimum, that you need to evaluate the parties on actually.
I think there is more than that you changed from, he/her höm 🤣🤣🤣
The problem for me is to know who is the best choice that would serve my interests
I don't care what you voted for. But I'm so happy you accepted the duty. Yes, it's a duty in Denmark, not just a right.
Anyway it reminds me of a classmate I had at HTX, he put it very simple; vote for what benefits you, if you don't vote, don't complain.
So honestly I've voted very differently between local, regional and national ballots.
When it comes to schools, healthcare and foreign affairs I'm just not a single colour person. I vote for my own best.
When Voting..., follow your Heart and Brains ;-) !
I have been voting since one day after my 21st birthday, for the first time and second time was if the age should be lowered to 18 - which it was - in all of those years I have only missed ONE election, because my travelled home from work was delayed and I got home about 10 minutes late. 😞
What if I told you there isn't just a political spectrum/left-right-axis, there is actually a political map/coordinate system
Me: *wants to move to Denmark* ✍️✍️✍️Learn where you stand as soon as you can.
Nu er du en af os 🙂
Venstre … the liberal party … is a center right party. Their alliance party in the US is the democrat party. Their core values are very similar, even though the democrats in the US has a vastly broader supporter base to pamper to.
Those online tests are more a guideline thing. I’ve tried them … both for regional as well as national elections. Despite of me answering exactly the same after taking the quiz multiple times, it matched me with different candidates. So I have now stopped using them.
(To be fair … I’ve never really trusted them anyway. They use an algorithm to match you with a candidate. Kinda like a dating app.)
Being born in Denmark I think it is only fair to allow foreigners to vote in municipal and regional elections under the current rules. If you live here and pay tax here, why should you not be allowed to vote?
People in other EU countries can vote in these elections as soon as they live here due to EU regulations which give the same right to Danish nationals. People from Iceland and Norway also, because we have very close ties and a lot of common culture with these countries. For example Iceland was a part of Denmark until WW2. Foreigners from other countries have to have lived here for four years so we know they know a bit about our country and our political culture before they can vote.
Our elections are also very secure, and we never see any claims of election fraud. It may seem a bit old-fashioned having to put your cross next to a candidate on a long piece of paper with all the candidates, but this is part of our election security, as that cross cannot be changed. Voting machines can be manipulated, so we do not use them here. The security is also strengthened with the election cards sent to everybody allowed to vote. This way no dead people or other people without voting rights can vote. And if your voting card is somehow lost in the mail you can still vote: Then you have to show up in person, show identity papers, and show that you are entitled to vote. This may take some time, but you can still vote if you are entitled to.
Part of this security is also that all the parties and candidates get to act as election officials. They all watch each other. You may have noticed at least two officials watching you at all times, except when you were in the voting booth. After the election they sit down together to count the votes, still watching each other to ensure everything is right. And after counting the votes the ballots are put in sealed boxes, in case a recount is needed, which is rare. The person helping you to put your ballots into the right boxes are also watching that you remembered to properly fold up your ballot after voting, so nobody else can see what you voted. If you forgot, your ballot would be torn up, and you would get a new ballot and be asked to vote again.
Election secrecy is important here, so I was a bit choked to see the picture of your ballots from inside the voting boot - until I realized that you had not yet put on your crosses. If this picture had shown who you voted for you would have had a lot of critique and down-votes. But we have no problem with people telling who they voted for, as long as they cannot prove it.
I see you spent some time to find the right party or candidate for you. And I hope you voted for the party or candidate you believe best suited for helping your municipality and region. Thank you for voting.
Did you have to show an ID of some kind when you woted?
It is so easy to vote, if you are a dane... not like in the USA... o m g ...😊
“Wonderfull” to see, that the first part of this video about an important topic as democracy, is a commercial for a jewelry Company.......
You are welcome.
Hi from USA. Glad you had an excellent experience voting in Denmark. Here I'm going crazy watching idiots question our election because they follow putin's puppet. Hopefully this will end and sanity is restored. Love your American to Danish comments.
I hope you are aware you are breaking Danish law in this video. It is not allowed to fotograph or video from inside the voting boks. So if I was you I would REALLY edit this video.
No one said anything, nor were there any signs. You can see that the picture was taken before I filled out my ballot, so there is nothing being shown but empty ballots.
"Hvor er dog Danmark dejligt, her er intet absolut. Noget er forbudt, og noget _meget strengt_ forbudt. Men altid er der li'som underfundigt føjet til: Naturligvis undtagen hvis De meget gerne vil" - Piet Hein
Although it is not in regulation to post a picture of your ballet you will not be punished for doing so. What would be very bad is to deliver a picture of someone else's ballet. The law gives you the right to a private vote ,- without anyone being able to put any pressure on you. Your husbond is not allowed to be in your voting booth for instance...
No it´s not...