§ Art. 144Amendments to other Acts. …

Amendments to other Acts. …
Temporary Provisions.
I.
Persons meeting the conditions of Article 1 of the Act on the Rights of Danish Citizens in
Iceland No. 18/1944, cf. Article 1 of Act No. 85/1946, shall be admitted to the electoral
register of each municipality.
II.
In the event that a municipality has obtained an exemption in order to use a printed
electoral register and a voter who is not on the electoral register turns up to vote, the electoral
commission may permit the voter to cast a vote if either of the following two criteria is met:
1. The voter produces a certificate signed by the chairperson of the municipal council or the
executive director of a municipality, stating that the voter has waived the eligibility to vote
where he or she is on the electoral register, provided that the electoral commission of the
polling station where the voter intends to exercise the right to vote has received a notification
identifying the voters to whom the municipality has issued such certificates.
2. The voter signs a request on a designated form to waive the eligibility to vote in the polling
ward where his or her name is on the electoral register and the electoral commission for the
polling station where the voter wishes to exercise the right to vote confirms this waiver by the
signature of the chairperson or two members of the electoral commission.
The electoral commission is not authorised to confirm a certificate or a request to waive the
eligibility to vote unless it is demonstrated, in a manner deemed valid by the electoral
commission, that the voter’s name is on the electoral register of another polling ward in the
same constituency and that the voter has not voted there. A comment shall be entered in the
electoral register where the voter’s name is recorded stating where the voter is exercising the
right to vote and this shall be recorded in the log book. The waiver shall be entered in the
election log book of the local electoral commission under whose jurisdiction the voter
exercises the right to vote and the original of the certificate shall be sent to the senior electoral
commission together with the log book of the polling ward where the certificate was
submitted and used.
III.
…1)
When the members of the National Electoral Commission are appointed for the first time
under Article 12, the chairperson of the Commission shall be elected as a regular member for
a term of five years and the chairperson’s alternate shall be appointed for the same term. The
other Commission members elected by the Althingi shall be appointed for, respectively, a
term of one year and a term of three years and their alternates shall be elected for the same
respective terms. The term for each of these two representatives shall be determined by lot.
One of the two representatives of the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities shall be
appointed for a term of two years, the other for a term of four years and their alternates for the
same respective terms. The term for each of the two representatives of the Association shall
be determined by lot.
Upon the entry into force of this Act on 1 January 2022, the mandate of the National
Electoral Commission elected under the Act on Parliamentary Elections to the Althingi No.
24/2000 shall expire.
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 1
[IV.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 143, the Minister shall appoint a three-member
committee entrusted with preparing the implementation of the Act. The Presidium of the
Althingi nominates one member of this committee, who shall be the chairperson, the Icelandic
Association of Local Authorities nominates one member and the Minister appoints one
member without nomination. The committee shall operate until the Althingi has elected its
representatives to the National Electoral Commission, and the Minister has appointed the
members of the Commission pursuant to Article 12.]1)
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 2
[V.]1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 143, [the committee under Temporary Provision
(IV)]2) may:
a. appoint a Director under paragraph 1 of Article 13,
b. decide the location of the office of the National Electoral Commission pursuant to
paragraph 3 of Article 13,
c. conclude a service agreement with Registers Iceland under paragraph 2 of Article 21,
d. prepare rules and proposals for the Minister for regulations as further prescribed by the
Act,
e. prepare other measures under this Act, as required.
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 2 2)Act No. 113/2021, Article 3
[VI.]1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 143, Registers Iceland shall upon the passing of
the Act commence the necessary preparation for the creation and operation of an electronic
electoral register, cf. paragraph 1 of Article 21. Registers Iceland shall also prepare the
issuance of the rules and directions with which it is entrusted under this Act.
For the conduct of the 2022 municipal election, municipal councils are not obliged to use
an electronic electoral register, cf. Article 34. [The committee under Temporary Provision
IV]2) may, for the purpose of commencing the introduction of an electronic electoral register,
request individual municipal councils to use an electronic electoral register during the
election. During that preparation, [the committee under Temporary Provision IV]2) shall
consult with Registers Iceland, the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and the
municipal council in question. Other municipalities not taking part in the preparation of the
electronic electoral register shall use a printed electoral register.
After the 2022 municipal elections, the National Electoral Commission shall deliver a
report to the Minister outlining the experience of using the electronic electoral register and
proposing improvements as deemed necessary. During the preparation of the report, the
National Electoral Commission shall consult the senior electoral commissions of
municipalities as appropriate, in addition to Registers Iceland. The Minister shall present the
contents of the National Electoral Commission’s report to the Althingi and to the relevant
parliamentary committee.
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 2; 2)Act No. 113/2021, Article 4
[VII.]1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 143, the Minister shall upon the passing of the
Act appoint a working group entrusted with considering early voting procedures. The working
group shall consider the practice of early voting being administered by district
commissioners’ offices and the experience thereof, in addition to instances where
municipalities have undertaken to manage early voting in rural areas. The working group shall
evaluate access and the need for this service in different regions given opening hours,
distances and the number of voters and assess who would be best suited to administer early
voting and to provide the service. The working group shall also consider the impact of
electronic electoral registers on early voting procedures. Lastly, the working group shall
examine the division of expenditures on these activities between district commissioners and
municipalities. The working group shall submit its results to the Minister together with
improvement proposals before 1 September 2022.
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 2
[VIII.]1)
The Minister of Justice shall in consultation with the National Electoral Commission, the
Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and the Althingi have a further analysis performed
of postal voting by overseas Icelandic citizens in general elections. Particular consideration
shall be given to ballot secrecy and how to ensure the secure conduct of such postal voting.
The Minister shall submit the results of this work to the Althingi no later than at the start of
the parliamentary session in the autumn of 2022.
1)Act No. 113/2021, Article 2
[IX.
Notwithstanding the provisions of point 7 of paragraph 2 of Article 22, Article 143 and
point 3 of Article 144, the Local Government Elections Act No. 5/1998 and the Act on
Parliamentary Elections to the Althingi No. 24/2000 shall remain in force during polls for the
inhabitants of municipalities on the basis of Articles 38, 107 and 119 of the Local Authorities
Act No. 138/2011 held before 14 May 2022. The conduct of these polls shall be governed by
the Local Government Elections Act No. 5/1998 and the Act on Parliamentary Elections to
the Althingi No. 24/2000, as appropriate.]1)
1)Act No. 137/2021, Article 1
[X.
For the municipal elections to be held on 14 May 2022, postal ballots may also,
notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 5 of Article 74, be sent to the district
commissioner of the administrative district in which the voter believes he or she is on the
electoral register. Notwithstanding the provisions of point (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 94,
ballots cast in early voting may be accepted as valid even if older voting materials are used, if
the sending envelope is marked with the name and address of the voter and/or a covering
letter is used containing text to the effect that assistance is permitted because of the voter’s
poor eyesight or inability to use his or her hand together with a rights protection officer’s
certificate. Notwithstanding the provisions of point (f) of Article 103, a ballot cast in early
voting shall not be deemed invalid even if older voting materials are used, if the sending
envelope is marked with the name and address of the voter and/or a covering letter is used
containing text to the effect that assistance is permitted because of the voter’s poor eyesight or
inability to use his or her hand together with a rights protection officer’s certificate.]1)
1)Act No. 18/2022, Article 9
[XI.
The National Electoral Commission shall issue notifications under paragraph 1 of Article
113 to those deputy MPs who were not issued with election certificates after the
parliamentary elections held on 25 September 2021, and shall send the names of the elected
MPs together with the names of the deputy MPs for publication in the Government Gazette
under paragraph 2 of Article 113.]1)
1)Act No. 18/2022, Article 9