Case Study | Delivering Digital Voting at Scale for Elder Council Elections Across Denmark

Introduction

Elder Councils (Aeldrerad or Seniorrad in Danish) are a cornerstone of local democracy in Denmark. Required by law in all 98 municipalities, these elected advisory bodies give residents aged 60 and over a formal voice in decisions that affect them. Council members are elected every four years by eligible older residents, and local policymakers are legally required to consult them on proposals affecting elderly citizens.

Running Elder Council elections is the responsibility of each individual municipality. Danish law does not prescribe how or when they must be held, only that they take place every four years. This flexibility has opened the door for municipalities to modernize how they deliver elections, and many have chosen to do so through digital voting.

By 2025, more than one third of Denmark's municipalities were using some form of digital voting for these elections. The 2025 cycle, the most complex to date, saw 16 municipalities hold their elections to coincide with national local and regional elections in November, using Lumi Global’s election platform, Electa.

The challenge

Running Elder Council elections presents a distinct set of challenges. The audience, voters aged 60 and over, requires solutions that are genuinely accessible rather than just technically available. At the same time, local authorities are under real resource pressure, and dedicating staff and budget to running elections that are not always high-profile is difficult.

In 2025, 32 municipalities chose to hold their Elder Council elections alongside national local and regional elections on November 18^th, a decision that maximized voter touchpoints but required careful coordination across multiple simultaneous voting processes. That meant:

• Polling stations running multiple simultaneous elections, requiring Elder Council kiosks to operate seamlessly alongside traditional voting infrastructure
• 292 iPad-based voting kiosks to be configured, tested, and physically delivered to locations across the country
• Voter registration data and candidate profiles to be managed across 32 different municipalities, each with its own rules and setup
• More than 20 different election configurations in use nationally, reflecting the varying needs and regulatory requirements of individual municipalities

Beyond the operational complexity, there was also a broader accessibility challenge. While Denmark is one of the world's most digitalized countries, introducing new voting technology to older citizens required a careful approach, one that built confidence rather than creating barriers.

More than 20 different election configurations were in use across Denmark, reflecting the varying needs of individual municipalities.

The solution

Lumi Global worked closely with each municipality from the point of contract signature, with project managers maintaining regular contact to agree rules, timelines, and voter registration processes well ahead of election day.

The core of the solution was Electa, Lumi Global’s all-in-one election platform, configured to support multiple voting channels:

• Remote online voting: voters accessed their ballots through a web browser using Denmark's national digital identity system, MitID, allowing them to vote from home or any personal device during an extended voting period
• In-person digital voting: iPad-based kiosks at polling stations allowed voters to authenticate by scanning their national health card, which is linked to their national ID number, providing a simple and familiar interaction
• Paper ballots: retained by a number of municipalities for voters who preferred traditional methods, ensuring no voter was excluded

This multi-channel approach was central to the accessibility strategy. Rather than requiring voters to adopt a new method, it gave them genuine choice. Municipalities could configure their own combination of channels based on local needs, resulting in flexible deployment at scale.

In the months leading up to the elections, candidates registered through Lumi Global’s candidacy management platform. Once approved, their profiles were used to generate ballots for each municipality. Lumi Global then configured and tested 292 scanner-equipped iPads, sorted them by municipality, and personally delivered them to polling locations across the country.

On election day, Lumi Global staff were present at high-traffic polling stations in Aarhus and Skanderborg to oversee operations, support polling station volunteers, and gather direct feedback from voters.

The results

The 2025 Elder Council elections were successfully delivered across all 32 municipalities supported by Lumi Global, 28 of which went to a vote, with four returning candidates by acclamation.

The voting infrastructure performed reliably throughout an extended electoral period spanning October and November.

• 652,450 eligible voters served across 32 municipalities
• 156,187 votes cast in total
• 90%+ of all votes cast through digital channels
• 80%+ of ballots cast remotely via the online voting system
• Approximately 10% of digital votes cast via in-person iPad kiosks
• Approximately 8% of ballots cast through traditional paper channels
• Turnout of 42-52% recorded in several smaller municipalities
• Positive voter feedback at polling stations, with strong expressed support for extending digital voting to future local and regional elections

Turnout varied across municipalities of different sizes, consistent with patterns seen in decentralized municipal elections. Larger municipalities recorded participation rates of around 20-25%, while smaller ones achieved significantly higher turnout. Where turnout fell short of expectations, analysis pointed to factors around public awareness and candidate visibility.

Voters at polling stations described the experience as "fast, easy, and nice" - and many expressed support for a similar system being used in future local and regional elections.

The project also generated valuable operational insights that will inform future elections, including the importance of kiosk placement, voter communication ahead of election day, and the continued value of in-person polling locations as community spaces for civic participation.

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