Here are Södertälje's new family requirements for the counters

It is the election committee in each municipality that makes decisions about the security around the election.

- The risk is if more people from the same family work in the premises and that it is suspected that they are trying to influence one to vote in a certain way or in some way manipulate the counting of votes, says Lars-Olof Collin (C), chairman of Södertälje municipality's election committee. 

US elections have affected

It has already been decided that those who work as voters will not be allowed to run in the election.

Something that, according to Södertälje municipality's former chief of staff Ola Schön, was decided after it was discovered many years ago that someone who had been employed as a voter, also ran in the election.

That a local politician tried to buy support for votes or that according to the so-called clan report there are links between local politicians and criminals is not a reason for the decision.

- It is to maintain confidence in the electoral system and we have received many questions about this.

I think that is due to the accusations of election fraud in the USA, says Lars-Olof Collin.

New recommendations

These requirements are not enshrined in the Election Act, but the Election Authority has now for the first time introduced new recommendations to the country's municipalities that polling stations should not have close relations with each other or be on any electoral list before the election, to avoid conflict and influence situations.

- We want the municipalities to do the same.

When they do different things, trust in the system risks being eroded, says Anna Nyqvist, chief of staff at the Election Authority.

Already introduced in Stockholm

But several municipalities have taken the lead and in Stockholm municipality, for example, both of these regulations - not running in elections or having more people from the same family work together in the polling station, have been obvious rules for a long time.

- We have had this for as long as I can remember, says Catharina Piazzola (S), vice chairman of Stockholm Municipality's election committee.

Nykvarn's election committee is now introducing these requirements and following the Election Authority's recommendations, the municipality of Salem also introduced that the rot recipients may not run, but they have not decided on requirements that families or relatives may not work together in the polling station.