Purpose of report
This document is a brief summary of reflections on selected impressions and observations primarily made from August 26th to September 17th during the preparation and execution of the Danish parliamentary election in 2011 in the three biggest municipalities in Denmark: Aarhus, Frederiksberg and Copenhagen. The material also includes follow-up interviews and participation in ‘experience-sharing’ -meetings. These observations were conducted by four researchers from the DemTech project at the IT University of Copenhagen: Nina Boulus-Rødje, Andreas Laumand Christensen, Christopher Gad and Randi Markussen.
The document does not express a comprehensive ethnographic analysis of the electoral process in Denmark or in any of the particular municipalities. Rather, the purpose of the document is to highlight selected areas and themes for further ethnographic and sociological investigation that our observations suggest are crucial for how the current electoral system works.
The focus of our observations was the organizational aspects of preparing and executing a parliamentarian election. This includes a wide range of activities conducted by employees in the municipalities, election officials, and other organizations involved in carrying out the election. Thus the primary focus was on the work of the people organizing the election, rather than, for example, the voters and their points of view.
The paper was authored by Nina Boulus-Rødje and Christopher Gad.
SourceThe paper can be found here.