Voting!

Sunday was municipal election day in Finland and we got to vote! Finland lets non-citizen residents vote in municipal elections as long as they’ve lived here for more than three years. We missed out in 2017 but this time, we were eligible. Municipal elections are usually held in April but were delayed this year because of the pandemic.

Campaign rules in Finland seem really strict compared to the US - and honestly, kind of quaint. A few weeks before election day, wooden campaign poster frames are erected all over town. Then, about two weeks before election day, the posters/lists go up inside the frames. They are often near bus stops and walkways so that people can check out the candidates on offer while they go about their business. There are also ads for candidates on buses and small billboards around town, usually consisting only of their photo, name, candidate number, and party plus maybe a very short campaign statement.

Finland publishes an “election compass” for voters - for this municipal election, candidates answered 25 or so questions about local issues. You go to the election compass and answer them yourself, then find out who you agree with the most. It is so easy. You can also browse the candidates’ platforms and filter them by candidate age, occupation, education, gender, party, neighborhood, etc.

On Sunday, after using the election compass to help us determine who we were going to vote for (from 600+ candidates and 15 political parties), we walked to our assigned precinct. We did not have to register ahead of time - we just had to show ID. Then we each went into a booth and wrote our chosen candidate’s number inside of a circle printed on a piece of paper, and then folded the paper in half. Outside of the booth, a poll worker stamped the folded paper and then we put it in a box.

I’ll tell you what, there is something about voting in an election that makes you feel really at home in a place! There was also the joy of scanning the candidate lists and realizing that we actually knew some of these people - what a great way to realize you’re kind of a local now.