Soviet-occupied Estonia’s electorate took their duty to vote to heart. In fact voter turnout was usually between 96%-98% - a trunout that was and is rare in western democracies.
But the results came with some caveats. Voter lists were doctored to eliminate those names who didn’t or couldn’t show up to vote. And heavy emphasis was placed on the success of the local “agitators”, individuals who were appointed at their place of employment to ensure that all voters fulfill their duty as citizens and vote.
During the days preceding election day agitators visited all voters reminding them of their responsibilities and urging them to check that their names were on the voter registry. On election day their ‘whipping’ of the electorate didn’t finish till midnight when ballotting actually ended. (Only in later years did polling stations close at 10:00 pm.) The agitator monitored the lists all day, to the check for the absent miscreants. A former agitator has said that it was often the practice to finally drop the ballots of the no-shows into the election box in their absence.
Non-participation during the early occupation years was considered potentially punishable. The editorial of “Rahva Hääl” of July 14, 1940 (the first Soviet occupation) was deliberately menacing: “Being absent from voting could be a serious mistake. In our current situation, we consider anyone who is passive to be an enemy of the working class.” A message in the July 11 “Rahva Hääl” was targeted to Estonians in exile a few days before the elections: “During this time the national sovereignty of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians is guaranteed through the mutual assistance pacts concluded with the Soviet Union.”
The Soviets made voting stress-free. It was simple. The list of names on the ballot was reduced to an exact minimum – one. No inner turmoil as to who to vote for. No effort in determining the best campaign platform. The voter was left with only one choice, whether to attend or not. The latter might bring on “discomfort” for the non-voter. All candidates “nominated by the people” were thus elected – unanimously.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 am. In addition to the admonitions of the agitator, enticements such as the sale of oranges, coffee, wieners – goods in defecit – and also concerts, were sometimes used as bait. The walls were decorated with election-related posters and slogans, to eliminate any doubt as to the solemn importance of the occasion.
At the closing of polling stations the results were counted. This was easy. The sum total of ballots equaled the election result. It was rumored that spoiled ballots were simply eliminated. But at the same time the local State Security Committee (NKVD/KGB ) was known to take certain written insults on ballots very seriously and made a great effort to find the authors. Appropriate advice on election results was offered by Josph Stalin at the Communist Party’s XVII congress in 1936: “It’s not important how one votes, but rather how the votes are counted.”
A near perfect turn-out on election day is typically an aberration in a democratic society. However a low voter turn-out in the Estonian parliamentary elections in 2011 (March 6 in Estonia with polling stations in Ottawa and Toronto during the third week in February and the availabilty of voting by mail) can be interpreted in many ways. Recently Estonia’s foreign minister Urmas Paet was very blunt in his comment about qualified voters who don’t participate: “Individuals who don’t take their right to vote as a duty have in essence abandoned any expectation that their criticism of any post-election government is to be taken seriously.” Simply put, others will speak up on their behalf, whether they like it or not.
Elections, Soviet style
Arvamus
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