Advanced voting ends abroad
13.4% cast votes in 4 days in county polls’ advance ballot
Published : 16 Jan 2022, 00:23
A total of 13.4 percent voters cast votes in the advance voting in the first ever county elections in the country till Saturday afternoon, on the fourth days of the advance ballot.
The advance ballot ended abroad on Saturday but will be continued in the country till Tuesday.
The advance voting in the first ever county elections in the country has begun on January 12 amid the worsening coronavirus situation.
The county elections will be held on 23 January in 21 wellbeing services (social, health and rescue services) counties.
So far, the ration of vote casting is highest in South Savo where 17.2 percent voters cast their votes while the ratio is lowest in Vantaa-Kerava county with less than 10 percent turnout, reported national broadcaster Yle, quoting elections officials.
The number of general advance polling stations in Finland is 900. Advance polling stations are mainly located at town halls, libraries and shopping centres.
Advance voting held at 94 places in 70 different countries abroad.
The total number of election day polling stations is 1,664.
People who reach the age of 18 years on election day at the latest have the right to vote in the county elections in their wellbeing services county.
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.
Voters must present proof of their identity when voting at a polling station. Official photo IDs, such as a passport, identity card and driving licence, are accepted as proof of identity. The old cardboard driving licence is also accepted, if the voter can be identified from the photo and the election official can thus reliably verify the voter's identity.
Voters who do not have a valid proof of identity can obtain a temporary identity card free of charge from the police for voting purposes.