County elections and municipal elections will be held simultaneously in April 2025. By casting a vote, you can influence who will decide on important matters that affect the everyday lives of us all for the next four years. Advance voting will take place in Finland from 2 to 8 April 2025 and abroad from 2 to 5 April 2025
What do municipal councils do?
The municipal council makes the important decisions municipality – it decides how your hometown operates! Municipal councillors make decisions about:
✅ Education – e.g. school funding, student welfare, and youth work
✅ Public transport – how local transportation is organized
✅ Housing and zoning – student housing, new buildings, parks
✅ Leisure and culture – libraries, sports services, events
✅ In HAMK area councillors decide who represent municipality or city in HAMK’s Board.
Every municipal or city councillor elected in the upcoming elections will directly shape the place where you live.
What do county councils do?
County councils are the highest decision-making body within the wellbeing services counties – they make major decisions about services that affect everyone’s daily lives! County councillors decide on:
🔹 Social and healthcare services – health centers, dental care, mental health services, maternity clinics
🔹 Rescue services – fire and emergency response services
🔹 Emergency and specialized healthcare – how hospitals and emergency services operate
You probably wonder, how this concerns you, because students have FSHS. FSHS (Finnish Student Health Service) provides students with primary healthcare – mental health, general health, oral health, and student collaboration. Wellbeing services counties are responsible for emergency care, on-call services, and specialized healthcare. Maternity clinics and rescue services are also part of their responsibilities.
Which students can vote? And where?
For many students, voting rights and location can be unclear. A multi-location life between a study town, home town, and workplace can influence where you want to vote. Some international students may also be eligible to vote without realizing it.
🔎 Where and how is voting eligibility determined?
Your right to vote depends on two factors: your municipality of residence and your nationality.
✅ Citizens of other countries than Finland can vote if they have had a registered municipality of residence in Finland continuously for at least two years before 21.2.2025.
✅ Finnish citizens can vote if they have a registered municipality of residence in Finland on 21.2.2025. This is based on their permanent place of residence. Moving to a study town usually means a change of municipality if the move is expected to last more than a year. There are exceptions, but most university students should have their study town as their municipality of residence.
✅ Citizens of EU and EEA countries have the same voting rights as Finnish citizens. If they have a municipality of residence in Finland on the registration day, they can vote. Since degree students typically stay in Finland for more than a year, they usually have voting rights.
❌ Exchange students are generally not considered permanent residents of Finland, as their stay usually lasts less than a year. Without a municipality of residence, they do not have voting rights.
Residents of Helsinki will only vote in the municipal elections, because Helsinki does not belong to a wellbeing services county. The City of Helsinki is responsible for health and social services and rescue services in Helsinki.
How to find out who to vote for?
Choosing the right candidate can feel difficult, but here are some tips to make your decision easier!
🔍 Use a voting guide – test which candidates best match your values. Voting guides can be found on many media websites (such as Yle, MTV, and Helsingin Sanomat), but also organizations like Nuorisoala ry have published their own youth voting guide.
🗣 Check candidates’ opinions – review party platforms and candidate promises. Many candidates actively share their thoughts on social media.
💬 Ask and discuss – candidates campaign actively, so ask them directly at election events or through social media!
Why should you vote?
In the previous municipal elections, the average age of municipal councillors at the time of election was 50.8 years. The proportion of young people, under 30 years of age, among municipal councillors was only 5.6 percent. In the first regional elections, the average age of regional councillors was 51.1 years.
Younger representatives are also needed on councils so that the current needs of young people and students are taken into account in municipal decisions. By voting, you ensure that representatives are elected to the council who are interested in the issues of students and young people and whose needs are taken into account in decision-making in municipalities and welfare areas!
Voting is a fundamental right of every adult citizen in Finland.
How the voting takes place?
You can vote either on the actual election day, April 13, 2025, or in advance. Voting is done in the same way in both cases, the main difference being that on the actual election day you can vote at the location assigned to you. This will be specified on the polling card that will be sent to you before the elections.
In advance voting, you can vote anywhere in Finland, including places other than your own place of residence. If you do not vote in your place of residence, remember to carefully write down your candidate number, as the polling station only has the list of candidates for that place.
Remember to bring:
📌 Identification (driver’s license, passport, ID card)
📌 A good mood and your voting decision!
At the polling station:
🔹 Check in with the election official and show your ID.
🔹 You will receive one or more ballot papers and go to the voting booth.
🔹 In the regional elections, the ballot is purple, and in the municipal elections, it is white.
🔹 Write your candidate’s number clearly. (Note! No other markings!) ✍️
🔹 Fold your ballot and hand it to the election official for stamping.
🔹 Drop the stamped ballot into the ballot box.
If you have any questions about voting, you may contact the Elections Helpline free of charge (0800 9 4770 in Finnish and English or 0800 9 4771 in Swedish and English) or the WhatsApp message service (050 438 8730).
Central Principles of Elections
The elections are secret. Secrecy of the ballot means that neither the election authorities nor anyone else get to know for whom voters have cast their votes or whether they have returned an empty ballot. This means you don’t need to tell anyone who did you vote, not even your family!
Voting is personal. The right to vote may not be used through an agent or even a family member.
The system is a combination of voting for individuals and parties. A vote goes both to a party and a person. (This does not apply to presidential elections in which votes are only cast for a candidate, not for a party.)
Voting in advance
The voting in advance period is 2–8 April 2025. Check out the voting location here: www.aanestyspaikat.fi. When you go to the polling station, you will definitely need a police-issued ID card, passport, driver’s license or similar photo ID.
If you are unsure, the election officials present are also there to provide instructions on how to vote. This helps, for example, first-time voters.
Voting in the election day
The polling stations are open, and also your vote counts!
Remember to bring your ID (driver’s license, passport, ID card).
🕘 The polling stations are open from 09:00 to 20:00! Don’t leave your decision to the last minute – go vote and invite your friends!
📍 Today you can only vote at the polling station assigned to you, which is indicated in the voting rights notification you received. You can also check it at aanestyspaikat.fi.
After voting, it’s a good idea to head to an election coffee, for example! That is a fun Finnish tradition, where a voter rewards themselves with a good cup of coffee and some small delicacy.
Congratulations, you have used your right to vote!