Frequently asked questions about the 2022 county elections

The first county elections will be conducted in Finland in January 2022 to elect members for the county councils of the wellbeing services counties. Until now, municipalities have been responsible for organising health, social and rescue services, but in future, this responsibility will be assumed by the wellbeing services counties. The wellbeing services counties are autonomous, and the highest decision-making power in each county will be exercised by a county council.

You can vote in the county elections either during the advance voting period or on election day. 

The advance voting period is from 12 to 18 January 2022 in Finland and from 12 to 15 January 2022 abroad. 

Election day is 23 January 2022.

The wellbeing services counties are autonomous counties that will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services within their area as of 1 January 2023. Until now, municipalities have been responsible for organising these services. There are 21 wellbeing services counties.

The residents of Helsinki will not vote in the county elections, because Helsinki does not form a wellbeing services county or belong to any of the counties. The City of Helsinki continues to be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services in Helsinki. Another exception is Åland, which is not affected by the health and social services reform.

The wellbeing services counties will have self-government, and each county will have its own county council. The county council will decide on matters such as older people’s care and the operation of health centres and fire stations in the wellbeing services county.

Information about the candidates for the 2022 county elections will be published in the Information and Result Service on 23 December 2021.

The boundaries of the new wellbeing services counties mainly follow the boundaries of the existing regions with the exception of the region of Uusimaa, which is divided into four wellbeing services counties. The county elections do not, however, have anything to do with the regional assemblies. The regional assemblies will continue their operations as before and decide on the activities of the regional councils.

Information about county elections is available on the elections website of the Ministry of Justice Electionsfinland.fi. Information about the candidates for the 2022 county elections will be published in the Information and Result Service in the evening of 23 December 2021. You can also follow the campaign advertising by political parties and candidates.

If you are entitled to vote, you will receive a notice of right to vote by post in December. The notice will be sent to you in electronic format if you have activated the Suomi.fi Messages service and given your consent for all official messages to be sent to you electronically.

The central municipal election boards may begin counting advance votes and postal votes in a closed space on election day, 23 January, at 10.00 at the earliest. The aim is to have the results of advance voting ready by 20.00 in the evening of election day, when the polling stations close their doors. After this, the results of advance voting will be made public.

Once the polling stations close at 20.00 on election day, the election boards begin a preliminary count of the votes cast on election day. Preliminary election results will be known and published already in the evening of election day.

The preliminary results contain information about the number and percentage of votes received by each political party in the entire country and in each wellbeing services county, municipality and voting district, and they will be updated as the vote count progresses. Once all the votes cast in a voting district have been counted, the number of votes received by each candidate in that district will be published. The names of the elected county councillors will be published after the preliminary vote count is complete in each wellbeing services county. 

The central municipal election boards will conduct a vote recount on the Monday following election day, and the county election boards will confirm the election results at their meetings to be held on Wednesday 26 January, starting at 18.00 at the latest.

By voting, you can have a say on important matters that concern everyone’s daily lives. The councillors to be elected in the county elections will decide on the organisation of local services in the wellbeing services counties as of the beginning of 2023.

Duties of a wellbeing services county 

• Primary healthcare
• Specialised healthcare
• Social welfare
• Services for children, youth and families
• Services for working-age people
• Services for older people
• Mental health and substance abuse services
• Services for people with disabilities
• Student welfare
• Promoting health and wellbeing
• Rescue services

Finnish citizens who reside in a wellbeing services county and reach the age of 18 years on election day 23 January 2022 at the latest are entitled to vote in the county elections. 

In addition, foreign nationals residing in a wellbeing services county are eligible to vote in the county elections under certain conditions. Further information on the determination of the right to vote in county elections is available here.

You can only vote for a candidate standing for election in your wellbeing services county. Your municipality of residence determines the wellbeing services county in which you are entitled to vote. 

Your wellbeing services county is determined based on your municipality of residence. Check which wellbeing services county your municipality of residence belongs to on the website on the health and social services reform (in Finnish).

The boundaries of the new wellbeing services counties mainly follow the boundaries of the existing regions with the exception of the region of Uusimaa, which is divided into four wellbeing services counties: the wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa, the wellbeing services county of Central Uusimaa, the wellbeing services county of West Uusimaa and the wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava.

• Residents of the following municipalities are entitled to vote in the wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa: Askola, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Porvoo, Pukkila, and Sipoo.
• Residents of the following municipalities are entitled to vote in the wellbeing services county of Central Uusimaa: Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Mäntsälä, Tuusula, and Pornainen.
• Residents of the following municipalities are entitled to vote in the wellbeing services county of West Uusimaa: Espoo, Hanko, Inkoo, Karkkila, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi, Lohja, Raasepori, Siuntio, and Vihti.
• Residents of Vantaa and Kerava are entitled to vote in the wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava.

The voting register for the 2022 county elections to be held in January was compiled based on the information contained in the Population Information System on 3 December 2021. 

If you have moved after 3 December, the wellbeing services county in which you are entitled to vote and your election day polling station are determined based on your previous place of residence.

You can vote either during the advance voting period or on election day. During the advance voting period from 12 to 18 January 2022, you can vote at any advance polling station. Polling stations are located in libraries and shopping centres, for example. A list of advance polling stations near your place of residence will be sent to you together with the notice of right to vote. 

On election day 23 January 2022, you can only vote at the polling station mentioned in the notice.

Basic information about the candidates will be published in the Information and Result Service on 23 December 2021. You can learn more about the candidates standing for election in your wellbeing services county on the internet, through campaign advertising of political parties and by using a vote compass.

A person must have a municipality of residence in a wellbeing services county in Finland to be eligible to vote in the county elections. Eligible voters staying abroad during the elections may vote by post from abroad or in advance at any advance polling station abroad.

The residents of Helsinki will not vote in the county elections, because Helsinki does not form a wellbeing services county nor does it belong to any of the counties. The City of Helsinki continues to be responsible for healthcare, social welfare and rescue services in Helsinki.

The residents of any wellbeing services county will have an opportunity to vote in advance in Helsinki. There will be three advance polling stations in Helsinki. Information on these advance polling stations is available in the Information and Result Service.

If you wish to vote at home, you must notify the central municipal election board of your municipality of this in writing or by telephone by 16.00 on Tuesday 11 January 2022. The telephone number and address of the central municipal election board can be found in the notice of right to vote sent to you by post.

You can vote in advance in your home if your ability to move and function is limited to the degree that it would be unreasonably difficult for you to go to a polling station or vote there.

More information about at-home voting can be found here (in Finnish).

The notices of right to vote will be sent to the eligible voters in stages during December. The notice will be sent in electronic format to those eligible voters who have activated the Suomi.fi Messages service and given their consent for all official messages to be sent to them electronically.