Polling cards for 2024 presidential election now being sent to voters

Ministry of Justice

15.12.2023 12.20

News item

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency has started sending out polling cards (notices of right to vote) for the 2024 presidential election. A polling card will be sent to each eligible voter either by post or via Suomi.fi Web Service in December or early January. All polling cards will be sent out by 4 January 2024.

Every Finnish citizen who has reached the age of 18 by 28 January 2024 has the right to vote in the presidential election. The number of eligible voters in the upcoming election is around 4.5 million.

More than one million voters will receive their polling card via Suomi.fi service

Polling cards will be sent either by post or electronically according to the voter’s choice. Nearly one in four eligible voters have given their consent for all official messages to be sent to them electronically and will thus receive their polling cards via Suomi.fi Messages. Notices sent to Suomi.fi Messages can be read at Suomi.fi Web Service after identification or at the Suomi.fi mobile application that the user has downloaded on their device.

Because the presidential election may consist of two rounds, each voter will be sent two polling cards with the same contents. Each polling card includes the eligible voter's name, election day, election day polling station and a list of advance polling stations near the voter’s place of residence.

Election day polling station is determined based on voter’s place of residence on 8 December 2023

The election day polling station in the presidential election, which is the same in both the first and the possible second round, is determined based on the voter's permanent place of residence entered in the Population Information System.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency has compiled the voting register for the 2024 presidential election based on the information contained in the Population Information System on 8 December 2023. A request for an administrative review of information contained in the voting register shall be submitted to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency by 12 January 2024.

If an eligible voter moves after 8 December, their election day polling station is determined in accordance with their previous place of residence.

The same voting register will be used in the first round of the presidential election on 28 January 2024 and in the possible second round on 11 February 2024. The election day polling station for the possible second round is also determined on the basis of the voter’s address on 8 December 2023.

New voters are encouraged to vote

In December or January, a letter will be sent to all people who are entitled to vote in the presidential election for the first time. The letter provides information on the upcoming elections and encourages people to exercise their right to vote.

Schedule for the presidential election

The election day for the first round of the presidential election is Sunday 28 January 2024.
The advance voting period is from 17 to 23 January 2024 in Finland and from 17 to 20 January 2024 abroad.

The election day for the possible second round is Sunday 11 February 2024.
The advance voting period is from 31 January to 6 February 2024 in Finland and from 31 January to 3 February 2024 abroad.

On election day, voters may only vote at the polling station mentioned in the polling card sent to them, whereas during the advance voting period, voters may vote at any advance polling station.

Inquiries:
Arto Jääskeläinen, Director of Electoral Administration, tel. +358 295 150 128, [email protected]
Laura Nurminen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 150 008, [email protected]