Two different ballots in use in the April county and municipal elections

The voting booths of the advance polling stations of the City of Tampere show both the candidates for the municipal elections in Tampere and the candidates for the county elections in the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa.

– Voting in simultaneous elections is easy and hardly different from traditional elections. At the polling station, you will receive two ballot papers: purple for the county elections and white for the municipal elections. If necessary, election officials will provide advice and assistance at the polling station, says lawyer Katja Korhonen, who acts as the second secretary of the central municipal electoral board.

Many polling stations around Tampere

Tampere has several advance polling stations around the city. There has been little change to the locations. A new polling station will be at Tammelan lähitori at the Tammelakeskus social and health care centre. There is no longer an advance polling station at Nekalan lähitori. The Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa has stopped organising lähitori activities in the facilities, so the facilities are not available for advance voting.

If the shopping centre or other polling station is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the lawyer, the quietest voting hours are usually two hours in the morning after the advance polling station has been opened and the last hours of the evening. The busiest hours are during lunchtime and afternoons. Weekends, especially Sundays, have also been quieter.

– If you want to avoid long queues, it is a good idea to go and vote outside the most popular hours or at quieter advance polling stations, says Katja Korhonen.

Only write your candidate's number on the ballot paper

The entrance to polling stations is as accessible as possible. Each polling station has an accessible voting booth for voters using a wheelchair.  In addition, the election officials can help the voter if necessary.

If you wish to vote, for example, on a business trip outside your municipality of residence, the advance polling stations have candidate books from both elections, which show the details of the candidates of all Finnish wellbeing services counties and all municipalities.

When voting, you must prove your identity with a photo ID, such as an identity card, a passport or a driving licence.

In the Tampere municipal elections, the candidates’ numbers are between 2 and 573, and in the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa county elections, the candidates’ numbers are between 2002 and 2717.

– Only write the number of your candidate on the ballot, nothing else. The ballot may be considered invalid if any other marking has been made on the ballot, reminds Korhonen.

Municipal elections are your opportunity to influence who makes decisions in your municipality – from everyday services, education and environment to culture and climate action. Municipal decision-makers are closest to our everyday lives, and their decisions affect all of us.