HOW TO VOTE in Estonia
The European elections take part in Estonia on 26 May 2019. Anyone aged 18 or over can cast a vote. It’s also possible to vote online or abroad if certain conditions are met.
The elections take place on 26 May 2019 in Estonia.
Voters in Estonia have several different options for casting their vote. They can either do it in their polling station on election day, vote in advance or vote online. Voting from home is also a possibility on election day.
Advance voting: 16-22 May 2019.
Online voting: from 9.00 on 16 May 2019 to 18.00 on 22 May 2019.
To find out your nearest polling booth, check out this website https://www.valimised.ee/en
According to the European Parliament Election Act voters should vote in the voting district where they are on the electoral role (based on the place of residence entered in the population register)
Any Estonian who is 18 or over on election day has the right to vote.
In order to be entered on the electoral role, you have to have an address of residence in the population register. You are then entered automatically on the electoral role. However, if you have changed your home address recently, we advise you to check with / whether your registration on the list of voters is correct.
You don’t need to register in advance, as this is done automatically by the authorities. More information is available on this website.
In order to receive a ballot paper, bring a document proving your identity to the polling station.
Voting by mail is available only for voters in another country.
However, there are several other voting options: advance voting, voting from home, online voting, as well as voting in prisons, hospitals and social welfare institutions offering around the clock care.
Electronic voting opens on 16 May at 9 a.m. and lasts twenty-four hours a day until the close of voting at 6 p.m. on 22 May.
Yes, you can, but if you haven’t voted in the European elections in Estonia before, you have to register on the electoral role by 26 April 2019 at the very latest.
In Estonia there is just one national constituency, which means people across the country choose from the same list of candidates.
There are no threshold provisions according to the law.
The mandates are divided nationally according to the d’Hondt distribution method. D’Hondt distribution series runs as 1, ,2, 3, 4, etc. Unlike the Riigikogu elections, there is no electoral threshold at the European Parliament elections, because as only 7 mandates are distributed, there is no need for it. An independent candidate shall participate in the elections like a party list with one candidate.
Under EU law, all countries must use voting systems that ensure proportional representation, which means that the number of elected members from each party depends on the share of electoral votes obtained by the party.
The Estonian election system uses a party-list proportional system with open candidate lists, which gives the voters the option to indicate their preferred candidate within the party list they choose. Mandates are distributed proportionally between the lists. Candidates who receive the most votes will be elected.
Political parties or individual people who wish to stand for the elections should register with the national election authority 40 days prior to election day. You should find a complete list of all candidates on their website once the registration period expires.
The deadline for presenting candidates is 6 April 2019.
- Electronic voting. The e-voting voter application has support for the visually impaired people.
- Voting by post.
- Voting at home. If a voter is unable to vote at a polling place due to his or her state of health or for another good reason, he or she may apply to vote at home
- Most of the election sites have possibility to enter on wheel-chair (step-free access)
- Possible assisted voting for example in nursing hospital
How can I vote in other countries?
The information by country is available in English and in the language(s) of the selected country