Face mask mandatory during municipality polls

Voters must wear a face mask or covering, use hand sanitiser, and stay two metres away from others at the polling station during the municipal polls scheduled to be held across the country on 13 June, said the Ministry of Justice in a press release on Wednesday.

The ministry has prepared the instructions in cooperation with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Election officials will monitor safety at the polling stations and advise voters on how to follow the instructions.

Meanwhile, the authorities have planned special measures to enable voters placed in quarantine or isolation by a doctor or having respiratory symptoms to vote.

Voters can contact the central municipal election board of their municipality to ask about these special arrangements.

This year, the advance voting period in Finland will exceptionally last for two weeks, from 26 May to 8 June. Advance voting will be conducted abroad between 2 and 5 June, but the voting period is shorter than this at many of the advance polling stations abroad.

On election day, voters may only cast their vote at the polling station specified on the notice of right to vote sent to them before the elections. When voting in advance, voters may freely choose any polling station.

A person who reaches the age of 18 on election day at the latest has the right to vote in the municipal elections in their municipality of residence. In addition to Finnish citizens, those citizens of EU member states, Iceland, and Norway who have a municipality of residence in Finland are also entitled to vote. Other foreign citizens are entitled to vote if they have had a municipality of residence in Finland for at least two years.

The total number of eligible voters is 4,464,814.