Voting

Questions on online voting

I do not have banking codes, a mobile ID or a Wilma account. How can I vote?

You are welcome to vote at Oodi’s Helsinki Info, at resident houses or at voting events arranged by local libraries. The opening hours of the polling stations can be found here. When you come to a voting event, bring along an ID (passport, driving licence or identity card for adults, a Kela card without a photograph is enough to prove the identity of a minor).

Can I change or cancel a vote that I have cast in the web service?

Yes, you can cancel the vote and vote again until the voting closes on 31 October. In the voting view, you can find a text concerning the cancelling of a vote under the headline “Voting done”. Click on the text link “cancel and start again”. Click “OK” when you are asked if you really want to cancel your vote.

How do I change my choice of major district in the web service?

Right at the start of the voting, you will see the window “Approve the major district”, where a major district is recommended according to your postal code (students according to school). Here you can easily change major districts from the drop-down menu. If you have already chosen one major district here and want to change it to another afterwards, do as follows:

1.  Cancel all the votes that you have cast, also for the entire Helsinki area (see previous question).
2. Go to Areas -> City of Helsinki’s participatory budgeting.
3. Select the major district you want and go to the “Voting” tab.
4. Choose the project you want, after which you will see a pop-up window with a request to verify your identity again. Click on “Verify identity again”
5.  When you see “Accept major district” again, select the major district that you want from the drop-down menu.
6.  Continue with the voting according to the general instructions.

Alternatively, you can come to a City of Helsinki establishment to vote.

Why did I get an e-mail notification of the voting to an old e-mail address? Why did I not get an e-mail notification about the voting?

If you register as a voter directly with banking codes or mobile ID, then the verification message is sent to you to the e-mail address (if there is one) that we have received from the data system of the Population Register Centre. An e-mail address can be added or changed in the Population Register Centre's web service. The vote has been registered successfully when the text “Voting done” is showed in the voting view of the web service. Not receiving the confirmation message does not affect the counting of the votes in any way.

Am I able to vote with Facebook, Google or YLE accounts? Does this not have strong identification after all?

If you want, you can first sign in to the service with social media accounts, but after this, you still have to verify your identity with banking codes, mobile ID or Wilma. The verification is saved on your account for a year. So if you do not finish the voting at once, but return to it later, then you do not have to dig out the banking codes another time. The verification message about the voting comes to the e-mail address that has been connected to your social media account.

Why is the entire Helsinki area not included in the major district selection? How can I vote on the plans concerning entire Helsinki?

Everyone can vote on the plans concerning their major districts and, additionally, on the plans concerning entire Helsinki.

Why can I not find my plan through the search function?

The search function on the front page is unfortunately insufficient. Your plan can best be found through the search function in the voting view. You can also share a link to your plan.

Is it possible to vote with the mobile phone?

The web service works with mobile phone, too. Turn your mobile phone into horizontal mode to get a wider view.

I cannot find my own school in the drop-down menu when I try to sign in with Wilma. How should I act?

All of the City of Helsinki's own schools are on the list. Some private schools have not made an agreement about the use of National Board of Education’s sign in service and are thus excluded from the list. Usually, you can proceed by selecting some school of the same type from the list. Pupils in contract schools (most coeducational schools) can choose another contract school from the list and pupils of other private schools can select another private school (not a contract school). For example, pupils of Oulunkylän yhteiskoulu can sign in by selecting Herttoniemen yhteiskoulu and pupils of Kristillinen koulu can sign in by selecting Englantilainen koulu. You can ask for help from your school’s IT support.

What do I have to consider when I vote on a public computer? Can someone access my banking information?

If other people use the same computer, remember to clear the cache when you have finished voting. Check the browser-specific instruction for clearing the cache for example from here (if you are used to using shortcut keys, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+Del). If you forget this, then the next user may be able to access your voting information, but not your banking information. On library computers, the cache is cleared automatically when your session is closed.

I have removed my user account and now I cannot create a new one. How should I act?

If you have verified your identity (with banking codes, mobile ID or Wilma) you can no longer create a new verified account, if you have removed your old account. We wanted to prevent a scenario, where anyone can vote as many times as they want by removing accounts and creating new ones. If you have accidentally removed a verified account, but not yet voted, then you can send an e-mail to omastadi@hel.fi and ask us to manually reset your removed user account.