YOUR GUIDE TO VOTING IN FINLAND

When to Vote

9 June 2024*

Mark your calendars!

If you are in Finland, you can vote on June 9, 2024 or you can vote in advance, between May 29 and June 4. If you are abroad, then you can vote starting May 29 to June 1. Sounds complicated? Keep reading our voting guide!

Anyone aged 18 or over on the election day can vote if are Finish citizens residing in Finland or hold the citizenship of another EU country. If you are Finish citizen residing abroad, then you can also vote for the 2024 European Elections.

Do I have an obligation to Vote?

No, there is no legal obligation to vote, but you know what we say…use your vote anyway!

Where can I vote?

If you are a Finish citizen voting in Finland

If you live in Finland, check the voting card sent by authorities, because it states the polling station where you can cast your vote. And guess what?! You can also vote in advance, at the polling stations that are designed for advance voting in each municipality. You can vote before the election day, from May 29 to June 4.

You don’t have to register, as the authorities will automatically do it for you.

If you are a Finish citizen voting from another EU country

If you live abroad, then you can vote at the polling station in the Finish embassy.

You can also vote in advance by mail. All you have to do is to order a ballot, cast your vote and send it by post well in advance. It has to reach the Finnish municipal office by June 7 at the latest, so hurry up! For more information on how to order the ballot and send the documents, check this page.

You also don’t have to register while voting from abroad, the authorities will do it for you.

If you are a Finnish citizen voting from a country outside the EU

The same rules apply as voting from an EU country, so please check the details above!

If you are an EU citizen voting in Finland

As a legal resident in Finland, you can of course vote here if you want to! Make sure to register to show your desire to vote in Finland and not in your country of origin for the 2024 European Elections. You can find more details here.

Deadline to register: 21 March 2024 (on the 80th day before the election day)

This picture shows voting ballots and a mouse click

Voting Online

Can I vote online?

NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote online in Finland.

Picture showing a mail box and envelope.

Voting by Mail

Can I vote by mail?

YES ✔ You can vote by mail if you are a Finish citizen living or residing abroad. You have to order a ballot in advance and make sure it reaches Finland before June 7.

Voting & accessibility

Do you have a disability or an illness? If you cannot go to the polling station, there are forms of assistance available:

fun facts

Finland joined the European Union on 1 January 1999.
Finland will have 15 members of the European Parliament the same as in the previous elections in 2019.
If you are an EU citizen living in Finland and you already registered for the 2019 European Elections, you don't have to register again this year - you are already on the voting list.
There is only one national constituency and everyone votes for the same list across the country.
Finland uses the D’Hondt method - there are four stages: firstly the votes for each party and electoral alliance are counted. Then, the candidates in each group are ranked in order of their personal number of votes. Later, each candidate is accorded a comparative index, with the most voted candidate accounting for all votes for the group, the second, half of them and so on. And finally, those with the higher number of votes, following the index, are elected.
There is no official threshold for the European elections.
Finland’s capital Helsinki lies higher north than any other EU Member State’s capital, and it's the second northern capital city in the world, after Iceland’s Reykjavik.
The flag of Finland: the blue represents the thousands of lakes scattered across the country, while the white is for the snow that covers the land in winter.