Electoral rights of Finnish citizens in European elections in another EU Member State
Finnish citizens residing in other EU Member States may choose whether they want to vote in European elections in their country of residence or in Finland.
- If a person wants to vote in European elections in his or her Member State of residence, the person shall register in the electoral roll of that state in accordance with the procedure and timetable set out in the electoral legislation of the Member State of residence. After this, the authority maintaining the electoral roll of the Member State of residence notifies the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency of this, and the Agency removes the voter’s name from the Finnish voting register for the same elections. Under the EU Directive on elections to the European Parliament (93/109/EC), voters may exercise their right to vote either in the Member State of residence or in their home Member State. No person may vote more than once at the same election.
- If a person wants to vote in European elections in Finland, he or she does not have to do anything; the person is automatically entitled to vote in the elections to be conducted in Finland. However, eligible voters who have earlier registered to vote in European elections in their country of residence but now want to vote in the European elections in Finland must contact the election authorities of their country of residence to cancel their earlier registration. If the eligible voter is uncertain whether the previous registration is valid, he or she can check this by contacting the election authority of the Member State of residence.
As a rule, a Finnish citizen who has been registered as eligible to vote in European elections in another EU Member State is also eligible to stand as a candidate in the European elections in that Member State in accordance with the legislation of the Member State.
The EU Member States' legislation on the right of citizens of other Member States to vote and stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament is based on the EU Directive on elections to the European Parliament.
