4. Practical arrangements for school elections

4.1. Time

In most Nordic countries, school elections are organised in connection with, and usually a few weeks before, the official elections. Some countries have the resources to organise the elections in conjunction with the official elections, but not all countries have the funding to do so. An exception to this is Denmark, where school elections are always organised at the same time, i.e. every two years in January –February for three weeks, separate from the country’s official elections.

In Finland, school elections have been organised in connection with the parliamentary elections, the presidential elections and the county and municipal elections, depending on project funding. In Sweden, school elections have been organised in connection with the parliamentary and EU elections; in Norway, they have been organised in connection with the parliamentary and county elections, the Sámi Parliament and referendums; and in Iceland, they have been organised in connection with the parliamentary and county elections.

4.2. Democracy education

In all Nordic countries, democracy education is the primary purpose of school elections. The aim of the school elections is to offer experiences of active citizenship and opportunities to learn about practical civic participation and democratic principles. Political research has found that voting behaviour is inherited – the aim of democracy education in schools and other youth facilities is to offer the opportunity to practice voting (Erola et al., 2017).

In the school elections, it is important to proactively prevent the reasons young people of voting age report for not voting in the official elections, such as: a lack of information about national politics and voting practices, a feeling that their own vote does no matter and difficulty in finding a suitable candidate or party (Hormio et al., 2023). School elections provide practical means for voting, political decision-making and getting to know parties. The carefully organised school elections simulate official voting situations as accurately as possible and make politics a part of everyday life in the form of election debates and panels organised at youth facilities, for example.

It would also be important to involve young people in organising democracy education events, such as political visits. This would lower the threshold for young people to have discussions, ask questions and learn about politics. It is also important that politicians understand which questions or topics arise from young people themselves.

In order for young people to be able to reflect on what societal topics are important to them, adults, such as teachers and youth workers, must also be provided with support and learning materials for discussing topics related to democratic education.

In Finland, the needs of the staff of vocational schools related to democracy and human rights education have been investigated. The interviewees and survey respondents expressed a large need for support in developing democracy and human rights education. The most important issues mentioned were the need for internal discussions at educational institutions and the lack of learning materials related to the theme. Based on the survey, the needs for support were so diverse that they can be summarised in the sentence “almost all types of support are needed and, on the other hand, it seems that we are also ready to receive them.” (Gretschel & Särkiluoto, 2025).

4.2.1. Materials supporting democracy education

In all Nordic countries, practical learning material is produced to support democracy education and delivered to participants in connection with school elections. Depending on the country, the themes of the materials may vary from election to election.

In Finland, for example, the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector coordinates the Week of Politics, which culminates in the Youth Elections and is a national theme week for democracy education aimed at all groups of young people. During the week, young people learn about societal decision-making and influencing as well as the current political topics. For example, the overarching theme of the Week of Politics organised in connection with the municipal and county elections in 2025 was “politics as part of the everyday life of young people”. The week focused on the themes of the municipal and county elections, the differences between and decision-making of municipalities and wellbeing services counties, political communications and deciding who to vote for.

The learning materials for the Week of Politics consisted of five modules:

Young people as influencers and political values
Municipal decision-making
Wellbeing services counties and decision-making
Political communications
Deciding who to vote for and Youth Elections (school elections)

Each module included both independent and group exercises, videos and text materials to support learning. Practical and expert materials help young people understand political themes and reduce the workload of individual teachers. Tailoring materials for different elections (e.g. EU elections and parliamentary elections) is a good practice. For example, the EU elections may seem more distant – which is reflected, for example, in the fact that in several countries, fewer people participate in school elections organised in connection with the EU elections than in school elections organised in connection with the parliamentary elections.

4.2.2. Election compasses for young people

At least in Finland and Iceland, election compasses for young people have also been developed to support young people’s voting decisions. The same election compasses can also be used as a tool for democracy education with minors. Another advantage of the election compasses for young people is that they bring issues that are essential to young people’s well-being to the candidates’ attention.

The Election Compass for Young People used in Finland is an election compass especially for young voters, the purpose of which is to help the user find a suitable candidate and provide information on the issues discussed in the elections to help the user decide who to vote for. The Election Compass for Young People has been developed and designed with young people's help. The aim of the Election Compass for Young People in video form used for the EU elections in spring 2024 was to develop the user interface of the election compasses to be suitable for young people in order to make societal influencing and voting interesting and accessible.

In connection with the EU elections in Finland, the Election Compass for Young People included issues related to EU decision-making that young people consider particularly important and interesting. In the design of the election compass, special attention was paid to the explanations of the statements, which can be used to provide additional information to support decision-making. With the help of explanations, election compasses are also well suited for teaching. It was essential that the young people themselves appeared in the explanatory videos of the election compass in video form. Based on the feedback collected on the Election Compass for Young People, the election compass in video form was considered useful and it also inspired the users to vote.

4.3. Societal significance of school elections and their outcome

In all countries, the results of the school elections are public and often also attract the interest of the media. In Denmark, the publication of the results reflects the publication of the official election results the most; the parliament is responsible for publishing the results, and people can follow the publication process via a live election night broadcast. The results are published area by area, and the data is followed by school. Although the school elections in Denmark are always organised separately from the official elections, unlike in other countries, it has been noted that the outcome of the school elections is often similar to the outcome of the official elections, and they are widely discussed in the public.

In the rest of the Nordic countries, school elections are organised in connection with, and mostly before, the official elections. In Finland and Norway, the results of the school elections are published before the results of the official elections. In Finland, the results of the school elections have been published approximately two weeks before the official elections. The results of the elections are published by the Finnish National Youth Council and Youth Sector, and they attract a lot of interest in the media and the societal discussion. The results are particularly interesting to local channels. In Norway, too, the results of the school elections are published a few days before the official elections. The results receive a lot of attention in the media and often predict the outcome of the official elections.

In Sweden and Iceland, the results of the school elections are published after the official elections. In Iceland, the results of the school elections are announced after the official voting locations close. The results of the elections are published in the national public radio broadcaster RÚV’s election broadcast and, at the same time, on the school elections' own website. In Sweden, the results are published the day after the official election day. The results receive attention in the media, but the number of participants is often the most interesting factor. In different countries, the public discussion often focuses more on the outcome of the school elections and the number of participants, rather than on the effects of democracy education, which is the most important task of school elections.

4.3.1. An example of the focus of public discussion changing in Norway

In Norway, school elections have been organised and statistics have been compiled on them since 1989 in connection with all national and local elections. Over the years, a key challenge has been identified: public discussion and media visibility focused strongly on the election results and their predictive value, which threatened to overshadow the real purpose of the school elections – democracy education.

A doctoral study (2016) by the Norwegian researcher Julie Ane Ødegaard Borge revealed that students voted in school elections mainly because they were told to do so, and not because they wanted to express their political identity. The school elections simulated voting, but young people’s own voices in the present moment were ignored. At the same time, the media actively reported on the election results in an analytical manner – “which party won” and “what does this predict about the upcoming elections” – which reinforced the perception that the results were the most important part of the school elections.

The focus of public discussion in Norway has later been successfully shifted away from the election results and towards democracy education. These factors have been highlighted as the key factors in shifting the focus:

Research and long-term monitoring: Sikt has collected data since 1989. In addition to asking about the voted party, the school surveys also ask young people about their general views on democracy and the society.
Communication about school elections: In addition to communicating the results, the parties working in the school elections also consciously communicate the views and experiences of young people. These are also brought up in the media.
- School surveys ask questions such as "What are the most important political questions when young people choose a party?" and "How satisfied are young people with democracy in Norway?"

Integration into the curriculum: School elections have been defined as part of the democracy and civic education in schools and are therefore organised to achieve the competence requirements of the curriculum.

In addition to these, it is essential that as the society in general is more interested in young people’s societal views, politicians should also be interested in them. That is why it is important to bring young people and politicians together through, for example, political visits organised in connection with school elections. In order for a young person to feel that voting and societal influencing are significant, people in decision-making positions must show an interest in young people’s matters.

4.3.2. Are school elections connected to the voting percentage of official elections?

The table below shows voter turnout for the entire country and the youngest age group in the most recent parliamentary elections, as well as voter turnout in the youth elections held in connection with the same elections (except Denmark, where youth elections are held separately from official elections).

The clearest difference is between Finland and the other Nordic countries. Based on the table, direct assumptions cannot be made about how different organizer models are reflected in voting behavior in official elections. However, the differences in organizer models raise the question of whether youth elections that reach more participants could also be a means of increasing voter turnout?

The table below shows that in countries where the central government is involved in organizing the elections (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland), overall voter turnout in official elections is also higher. However, as has also become evident in this guide, the resources used for youth elections in Finland differ significantly from other countries. Finland is also the only country where the state central government does not participate in organizing youth elections.

Country	Voting turnout of the total population	Voting turnout of the youngest voters	Voting turnout in youth elections
Finland (2023)	71.9%	51.2% (18-year-olds)	ca. 20-25%
Sweden (2022)	84.2%	82% (18–29-year-olds)	77.9%
Norway (2025)	80%	77.4% (18–19-year-olds)	81.4%
Denmark (2022)	84.2%	85% (18-year-olds)	ca. 50% (2024)
Iceland (2024)	80.7%	72.2% (18–19-year-olds)	ca. 34.9%

Sources: Tilastokeskus, Nuorisoala ry, Statistikmyndigheten SCB, MUCF, Statistics Norway, Sikt, Statistics Denmark, the Danish Parliament, Statistics Iceland, RÚV.

4.4. Good practices and challenges

Based on the Ungas val project's interview material, many good practices for organising school elections have developed in the Nordic countries. At the same time, however, significant challenges that affect the quality and coverage of implementing the elections have been identified.

Good practices when organising school elections:

Enough time to organise: Successful school elections require at least six months of preparation before the elections. It is also a good idea to reserve plenty of time for post-election activities, such as compiling statistics and possible reporting.
A long-term financing model: Regular and predictable financing enables high-quality implementation and the continuous development of school elections.
Basis on research: Long-term and comparable academic research measures the practical impacts of school elections. The research also increases public discussion on democracy education for young people.
Strong support from the central government: In Denmark, the prime minister declares the start of the school elections. This gives the elections visibility and legitimacy.
Integration into the curriculum: Integrating the school elections into the country’s official curriculum strengthens the implementation of democracy education and the equality of young people.
A predictable schedule: The predictability of when the school elections are organised, such as always organising them at a specific time, helps the organisers, participants and all stakeholders to prepare for the school elections.
Cooperation between different operators: Cooperation between the local government, political organisations and voting locations strengthens the impact of the school elections.
Providing election-specific learning materials: Election-specific democracy education materials provide context on the purpose of the different elections (cf. e.g. the EU elections and parliamentary elections). The practical materials help young people understand and reduce the workload of individual teachers when organising school elections.
Diversity of voting locations: Expanding the school elections to libraries, youth centres and other meeting places for young people increases opportunities for participation and makes the elections more accessible to young people.
Authenticity: Election arrangements that correspond to those of the official elections give young people a realistic experience of voting. Familiarity with the processes lowers the threshold for voting in the official elections, and the election panels and enabling political encounters make politics concrete and easier to understand for young people.
Involving young people in the organisation of school elections: Peers, such as the young people in the school’s student council, are more likely to successfully encourage other young people to participate in school elections. Young people can also be asked to help as election officials, for example.
Election Compass for Young People: Election compasses for young people help the young people understand topics that are relevant to them and find parties and/or politicians that represent their opinions. In addition, the election compasses for young people bring issues that are essential to young people’s well-being to the candidates’ attention.

Practices that have posed challenges:

Rushing: A late commission or funding decision naturally makes it difficult to organise school elections in many areas. Schools or other participants have less time to react and join in.
Financial uncertainty: If it is not possible to predict the organisation of school elections or their schedule, it is naturally more challenging to organise them.
Reaching the participants: Depending on the organisers, information about the school elections and the offered materials may not reach everyone equally. School elections supported by the central government reach more participants than organisation-led school elections.
Dependence on individual adults at the participating places: The commitment of the participating places is often the responsibility of a few motivated adults, such as social studies teachers. A loss of votes is usually caused by an individual teacher changing or falling ill.
Disregarding special needs: Young people in need of special support, such as young people with an immigrant background, are easily excluded from school elections without additional support.
Democracy education is often overshadowed by the results in the news: The election results often dominate public discussion, even though the ultimate purpose of school elections is to educate young people about democracy. This can be prevented by finding out young people’s views on societal issues in the form of a school election survey, for example, in addition to the voting results.
Political impartiality: The participation of political operators in the school elections creates a sense of authenticity. However, it also creates a risk of emphasising a specific election theme if, for example, not all parties participate equally.