Participation in municipal elections this spring was better among women than men, RÚV reports. This was among the findings just released by Statistics Iceland, which also showed that voter turnout increased for the first time since 2002.
There were 247,943 people on the election register at the time of municipal elections this year and 167,622 votes cast. This means that election turnout was 67.6%, which is 1.1% higher than it was in 2014. Turnout among women was 68.8% and 66.5% among men.
Turnout was lowest among voters aged 20 – 24 years old; less than half of registered voters in this age group voted, or 48.1%. Turnout among the youngest voters—individuals aged 18 and 19—was better, 53.7%. The best turnout—83%—was among voters aged 65 – 74.
Participation of voters with foreign citizenship dropped since 2014. Participation among those with Nordic citizenships was 51.4% this year, compared to 56.7% in 2014. Participation among those with other citizenships was 15.3%, down from 17% in 2014.
