Every vote counts in Norway

For the Norwegian postal service, every vote counts and the mail must go through. So it spent over £1,300 (15,000 kroner) rushing a single wayward ballot by airliners and chartered helicopter to the right polling station before it closed in Monday's local elections.

'This was a very unique case,' Kjell S. Rakkenes, spokesman for Norway Post, said by telephone Wednesday. 'We believe strongly that every vote should count, and it's even more important in local democracy.'

The ballot was mailed from the western Norwegian town of Sandane, addressed to Styrn, the voter's hometown of 6,700 people, about 50 miles away. However, it was discovered on election day by postal officials in the wrong town, Trondheim, too late to forward it through the regular mail. So the postal service instructed a courier service to get the ballot to Stryn before the polls closed at 8p.m. on Monday.

The ballot was first flown about 220 miles south to Oslo, then about 185 miles northwest to the town of Foerde. At that point, it switched transport methods, taking a chartered helicopter the remaining 35 miles northeast to Stryn. The mayor of Stryn, Nils P. Stoeyva, was waiting for the ballot when the helicopter landed at the local stadium with 25 minutes to spare.

Courier Even Nordstroem, of EM Budbil, was quoted as telling the local Fjordingen newspaper, that 'the bill will be about 15,000 kroner.' There was another price for protecting one Norwegian's right to vote. Nordstroem was so busy delivering the ballot, he didn't have time to vote himself.