Editing Storting (section)

==Elections==
{{Main|Elections in Norway}}
{{Main|2021 Norwegian parliamentary election}}
[[File:Stemmeavlukket.jpg|thumb|An election booth at the event of municipal and county voting, 2007]]
Members to the Storting are elected based on [[party-list proportional representation]] in [[Voting systems#Multiple-winner methods|plural member]] constituencies. This means that representatives from different political parties are elected from each constituency. The constituencies are identical to the 19 former [[counties of Norway]]. Although county mergers have brought the number of counties down to 11, the 19 constituencies are unchanged. The electorate does not vote for individuals but rather for party lists, with a ranked list of candidates nominated by the party. This means that the person on top of the list will get the seat unless the voter [[open list|alters the ballot]]. Parties may nominate candidates from outside their own constituency, and even Norwegian citizens currently living abroad.<ref name=voting>{{cite book |last=Ryssevik |first=Jostein |title=I samfunnet. Norsk politikk |year=2002 |publisher=Aschehoug |location=Oslo |language=no |isbn=978-82-03-32852-7}}</ref>

The [[Sainte-Laguë method]] is used for allocating parliamentary seats to parties. As a result, the percentage of representatives is roughly equal to the nationwide percentage of votes. Still, a party with a high number of votes in only one constituency can win a seat there even if the nationwide percentage is low. This has happened several times in Norwegian history. Conversely, if a party's initial representation in Stortinget is proportionally less than its share of votes, the party may seat more representatives through [[leveling seat]]s, provided that the nationwide percentage is above the [[election threshold]], currently at 4%. In 2009, nineteen seats were allocated via the leveling system.<ref name=voting/> Elections are held each four years (in odd-numbered years occurring after a year evenly divisible by four), normally on the second Monday of September.

Unlike most other parliaments, the Storting always serves its full four-year term; the Constitution does not allow [[snap election]]s. Substitutes for each deputy are elected at the same time as each election, so by-elections are rare.

Norway switched its parliamentary elections from single-member districts decided by two-round [[Two-round system|run-offs]] to multi-member districts with proportional representation in 1919.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fiva |first1=Jon H. |last2=Hix |first2=Simon |title=Electoral Reform and Strategic Coordination |journal=British Journal of Political Science |year=2021 |volume=51 |issue=4 |language=en |pages=1782–1791 |doi=10.1017/S0007123419000747 |issn=0007-1234 |doi-access=free|hdl=11250/2983501 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fiva |first1=Jon H. |last2=Smith |first2=Daniel M. |date=2 November 2017 |title=Norwegian parliamentary elections, 1906–2013: representation and turnout across four electoral systems |journal=West European Politics |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=1373–1391 |doi=10.1080/01402382.2017.1298016 |issn=0140-2382 |hdl=11250/2588036 |s2cid=157213679 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>