Voting in the European Parliamentary elections

EU voters elect members to the European Parliament in the European Parliamentary elections every five years. Finland elected 13 members to the European Parliament in the 2019 elections.

In these elections, Finland is a single electoral district, which means that you can vote for any candidate running for the European Parliament in Finland.

Who's allowed to vote?

• You may vote in the European Parliamentary elections if you are a Finnish citizen and have reached the age of 18 by the election day.
• You may also vote if you are 18 years old, a citizen of another EU member country and you have a home municipality in Finland. If you are a citizen of another EU member country, you must have your name entered in the voting register in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency no later than 80 days before the election.

How can I vote?

• As a citizen of a EU member country, you may vote in your own country or in the EU country where you live. You may also run for the European Parliament in either country. If you are a Finnish citizen but you live in another EU country and you would like to vote in that country, you should have your name entered in the voting register of your country of residence well in advance.
• 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.