In accordance with its Constitution, Finland is divided into self-governing municipalities.
Each municipality is responsible for many of the decisions that concern its residents.
The highest decision-making municipal body is the municipal council, which is elected by its residents. The members of the council, or councillors, are elected in municipal elections for four-year terms.

 

The next municipal elections will be held on Sunday, 18 April 2021.

In municipal elections, Finnish citizens and, under specific conditions, citizens of other countries may vote and stand as candidates.
Voting in Finland is voluntary.

 

Voting rights – who is entitled to vote

You may vote in municipal elections if you are a citizen of Finland, another European Union member state, Iceland or Norway and you meet the following conditions:

• you have turned 18 by election day (18 April 2021)
• you have a municipality of residence in Finland by 26 February 2021

If you are a citizen of some other country, you may vote in the municipal elections if:

• you have turned 18 by election day (18 April 2021)
• you have had a municipality of residence in Finland continuously for at least two years before 26 February 2021

Your municipality of residence is determined on the basis of the Municipality of Residence Act. In principle, your municipality of residence is the municipality you live in.
In the municipal elections of 2021, your municipality of residence will be determined on the basis of the municipality that has been recorded as your municipality of residence in the Population Information System on 26 February 2021 at 12.00 midnight.
If necessary, you can check your municipality of residence from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

In the municipal elections, you may only vote for a candidate standing for election in your municipality of residence.

 

A notification of the right to vote is sent to all persons entitled to vote

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency maintains a voting register containing the information of all those entitled to vote. There is no need to register for the voting register separately. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will send a notification card informing you of your right to vote by 25 March 2021 at the latest. The card is sent to each person who is entitled to vote and whose address is known. Your notification card will be sent to you in just digital form if you have signed up for the Suomi.fi Messages service, which is provided by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (for more information, visit www.suomi.fi/messages).
The voting right notification contains instructions on the voting process, a list of advance polling stations near your place of residence, and information concerning your right to vote. You do not need to bring your voting right notification to the polling station, but you will need to prove your identity before casting your vote.

 

How to vote

To cast your vote during the advance voting period or on election day, go to your local polling station. You may only vote for one of the candidates listed in the master list of
candidates in your municipality.

1. Prove your identity to the election official by showing your a passport, identity card, driving licence or other similar document. The election official will give you a ballot.
2. Go to the polling booth. Only one person may enter a polling booth at a time.
3. Mark the number of the candidate you are voting for on your ballot. You can only vote for one candidate. Write the number of your candidate in the circle on the ballot. Do
   not write or draw anything else on your ballot. Fold the ballot so that the number you wrote remains inside and is not visible to anyone else.
4. Take your folded ballot to the election official. They will stamp the ballot.
5. a) If you are voting on election day, drop your stamped ballot in the ballot box.
   b) If you are voting in advance, the election official will give you an election envelope in which you will seal your stamped ballot.

If your ability to write a candidate’s number on the ballot is significantly impaired, you may request a polling assistant of your choice or an election official to help you cast your vote.
Your assistant may not be a candidate or a close relative of a candidate. Your assistant will be obliged to maintain the secrecy of your ballot, i.e. to keep any information related to your vote a secret.

For full information, please open the PDF-file

More information: www.vaalit.fi