Voting in municipal elections

Municipal elections are held in April every four years. In municipal elections, voters elect members to municipal councils.

Who's allowed to vote?

• You may vote in municipal elections if you are a resident of the municipality and reach the age of 18 by the election day.
• Your home municipality is the municipality where you were registered 51 days before the election day.
• Citizens of other EU countries, Norway and Iceland that have a home municipality in Finland also have the right to vote in Finnish municipal elections.
• Citizens of countries outside the EU that have had a home municipality in Finland for a continuous period of at least two years on the 51st day before the election day also have the right to vote.

How can I vote?

• You may vote in advance at any of the advance polling stations in Finland or abroad. On the election day, you may only vote at your own polling station. The polling station is indicated on the card that will be mailed before the elections to every person entitled to vote. If you have activated the Suomi.fi Messages service, you'll receive the card electronically to Suomi.fi Messages. Find out more about Suomi.fi Messages.Opens in a new window.
• Elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and chronically ill that are unable to reach the polling station may request support so that they can vote at home. The necessary voting arrangements must be made with the municipal central election board.
• You need to prove your identity at the polling station. You do not need the notification stating that you are entitled to vote. Even though you do not need the notification at the polling station it may be useful when you are voting in advance outside Finland. In those situations, the notification card will speed up the voting process.
• If you are staying abroad or live permanently abroad during the election, you can vote by post. An eligible voter wishing to vote by post has to order the postal voting documents from Finland to an address abroad.

Read more about elections on Vaalit.fi siteOpens in a new window.