Slightly more people have taken part in advance voting in the dual municipal and county council elections than did so in the last elections.
As of around 11 am on Tuesday, around 21.7 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots in advance, or a half a percentage point more than in the previous poll.
Finland's most recent municipal election was held in 2021, while the county elections were held the following year.
If voter participation continues at a similar pace, it is estimated that overall turnout could also increase this time around.
By 11 am on Tuesday, nearly 1.025 million people had cast their ballots. This year there are a total of 958 advance voting locations across the country.
According to Arto Jääskeläinen, the justice ministry's electoral administration director, voting in the elections has gone extremely well. He added that this was the first dual election in some time.
This year, around 260,000 foreigners are eligible to vote, which is tens of thousands more than in the last elections, a development that could potentially have some impact at the polls. However, a political scientist told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that political parties don't seem to be pursuing issues that could be important to foreigners.
More votes in municipal elections
In the county council elections, voters choose candidates to be in charge of organising social, healthcare and rescue services. Meanwhile, the municipal elections elect representatives who will make decisions about the operations and finances of municipalities.
County council elections are not being held in Helsinki, because the city council is tasked with organising social, healthcare and rescue services.
However, voting has been less brisk in the county council elections, at least so far. As of Tuesday morning, voter participation in the county elections was nearly a full percentage point lower than for the municipal elections.
A similar situation occurred in a dual election in 1996, when municipal and European Parliament elections were held at the same time. Back then, the voter turnout for the municipal elections was 61.3 percent and the European Parliamentary elections saw a 60.3-percent turnout.
However, it is still possible that people who cast early votes in the current municipal — but not the county — elections are taking more time to consider who to vote for in the county election.
They can still head to the polls to do so. Election day is Sunday 13 April 2025 and polling stations will be open from 9 am to 8 pm.
The All Points North podcast hosted a panel election special to discuss the key issues in Finland's municipal and council elections. You can watch the episode from the player below or listen via Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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