A1 Journal article (refereed)
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered with Trust : Non-Resident Citizens’ Experiences of Newly Adopted Postal Voting (2021)
Wass, H., Peltoniemi, J., Weide, M., & Nemčok, M. (2021). Signed, Sealed, and Delivered with Trust : Non-Resident Citizens’ Experiences of Newly Adopted Postal Voting. Frontiers in Political Science, 3, Article 692396. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.692396
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Wass, Hanna; Peltoniemi, Johanna; Weide, Marjukka; Nemčok, Miroslav
Journal or series: Frontiers in Political Science
eISSN: 2673-3145
Publication year: 2021
Publication date: 06/08/2021
Volume: 3
Article number: 692396
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Publication country: Switzerland
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.692396
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/80510
Abstract
In this study, we focus on Finland, where the Parliament decided in March 2021 to postpone for two months the municipal elections that were originally scheduled to be held on April 18. Although the decision was mostly justified by the sudden and dramatic daily increase in new COVID-19 infections, the inability to guarantee the opportunity to vote for those in quarantine was included among the likely risks. The failure to organize health-safe voting procedures to accommodate the original schedule emphasizes a certain paradox in the Finnish electoral legislation: caution in introducing new facilitation instruments has led to lower levels of preparedness and flexibility in crisis situations. Although a forerunner in implementing extensive advance voting opportunities, Finland has only recently introduced postal voting, which is restricted to voters living abroad. Hence, we ask: what can be learned from this form of convenience voting if expanded to all voters to enhance the sustainability of elections?
Our analyses are based on a survey conducted among non-resident voters (n = 2,100) after the 2019 parliamentary elections in which postal voting from abroad was allowed for the first time. Our results show that whereas trust in the integrity of postal voting is quite high, various efforts needed from individual voters substantially increase the costs of postal voting. Postal operations also raise concerns. Furthermore, voters felt that requiring two witnesses made postal voting cumbersome, an issue that needs to be resolved, particularly if applying postal voting in the context of a pandemic. The Finnish case constitutes a concrete example of a situation in which voter facilitation targeted to a particular segment of society may become a testbed for electoral engineering that will improve voting opportunities for everyone.
Keywords: elections; voting; advance voting; Election Act; living abroad; unusual conditions; pandemics; COVID-19
Free keywords: pandemic elections; postponing elections; electoral reform; voter facilitation; convenience voting; postal voting; external voters; non-resident citizens
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
VIRTA submission year: 2022
JUFO rating: 1