A public referendum shall be held no sooner than three months and no later than one year after a parliamentary resolution to this effect has been passed by the Althingi.

If a referendum is due to be held on the demand of Althingi that the President be relieved of his duties, or if the President rejects a bill of legislation, the vote shall be taken within two months.

A national referendum shall also be held within two months in the case of changes to the church structure of the state.

The National Election Board shall decide on the date of a referendum if the President refuses to approve the bill of legislation. When this happens, however, the bill of legislation nevertheless acquires its force of law. It shall be submitted as soon as possible to a vote by all eligible voters in Iceland for approval or rejection by secret ballot.

When a particular issue is put to a referendum, the National Electoral Board shall announce a referendum at the most appropriate time, but no later than one month before the vote. The question which will be put to the voters shall also be published.

The National Election Board shall decide on the wording and format of a question on the ballot in a ballot on the demand of Althingi that the President be relieved of his duties, if the President rejects a bill of legislation to be approved and on changes to the church structure of the State.

Voting in the Icelandic parliament is the same as in the elections for a parliamentary seat. Their delimitation is determined by the boundaries of individual municipalities, with Reykjavík being divided into two electoral districts.

All Icelandic citizens who have reached the age of 18 at the time of election and are domiciled in Iceland.

Icelanders 18 years and older who are domiciled abroad have the right to vote for sixteen years from the date of their emigration if they have ever been domiciled in Iceland. After this time, applications must be submitted to the National Registry of Iceland to be entered on the electoral roll. A decision on the register of electors shall be valid for four years from 1 December almost after the application was submitted.