Starting from Monday, you can vote at the local government councils elections. On 13 October, internet voting begins at 9 a.m., and polling places in local governments and Tallinn city districts open at 12 noon. For the first time, the Smart-ID app can also be used for internet voting.

Voters must be at least 16 years of age and their registered address in the population register must be in the relevant rural municipality or city. In addition to the Estonian and EU citizens, stateless persons living in Estonia with a long-term residence permit or the right of permanent residence also have the right to vote.

Internet voting starts at 9 a.m. on Monday, 13 October, and is open round the clock until 8 p.m. on Saturday, 18 October. To vote online, a voter needs to download the voter application to their computer from the website www.valimised.ee. The application is published on the opening page immediately before voting starts. The voter needs a computer with an internet connection, and for identification, an ID card and an ID-card reader, or their mobile-ID or Smart-ID and PIN codes. Smart devices cannot be used for voting.

We definitely recommend to verify that your i-vote has been received. Within 15 minutes after casting their i-vote, voter can see for themselves that their vote has reached the central election server and correctly expresses the will of the voter. To do this, they need to download the ‘EH kontrollrakendus’ (IV verification application) to their phone from Google Play or App Store, or update the application to get the latest version.

The voter application, works on computers running Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, and the individual verification application works on smart devices running iOS and Android operating systems. 

If a voter feels that the privacy of their i-vote was not guaranteed at the time of voting or that they were pressured, they have the option to change their choice by either voting again online or voting by paper ballot at a polling station. If a voter has voted both electronically and by paper ballot, only the vote cast at the polling station will be taken into account. You can also change your i-vote by voting by paper ballot at a polling place on the election day on Sunday. If a voter goes to a polling place to change their i-vote, the polling station employee will inform the voter that they have already voted online.

From Monday to Thursday of the election week, it is possible to vote in the centres of rural municipalities and cities as well as the city districts of Tallinn from 12 noon to 8 p.m. During this period, voters can go to any polling place that is currently open in any voting district across Estonia and cast their vote for a candidate of their electoral district. Voters can elect the council of the city or rural municipality that is their place of residence according to the Population Register as at 19 September. All 356 polling places are open from Friday to Sunday. More information on polling places is available at www.valimised.ee. To vote at a polling place, you need to bring a valid identity document; you cannot yet verify your identity by using the eesti.ee app at a polling place.

If a voter has difficulty coming to the polling station due to health or other valid reasons, they can request to vote at home. To do so, you must submit an application to the local government. This can be done in writing already now. Requests can also be made by calling the telephone number designated by the local government from 12 noon to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

On election day, 19 October, voting only takes place at polling stations, where you can also change your i-vote if necessary. On the election day, all polling places are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (9:00–20:00). After voting ends at 8 p.m., the counting of both paper ballots and i-votes begins.

Based on the voting results, the municipal or city election committee determines the election results separately for each electoral district, and the voting results will be published on the website www.valimised.ee.

I-voter’s guide

For smooth i-voting, please check the following:

✅ Are the certificates of your ID-card, Mobile-ID or Smart-ID valid?

✅ Do you have the latest ID-card software on your computer?

✅ Do you need to update your computer’s operating system?

✅ Does your anti-virus software need updating?

For safe i-voting:

✅ Open the website www.valimised.ee on your computer.

✅ Download and start the necessary voter application on your computer.

✅ Verify your identity by using Smart-ID; Mobile-ID or ID-card.

✅ Select the candidate you want to vote for.

✅ Confirm your vote with a digital signature.

✅ Make sure your i-vote has been received, using the EH verification application.

✅ To do this, download the verification application ‘EH kontrollrakendus’ from Google Play or App Store and open it.

✅ Point your smart device camera at the QR code in the voter application.

✅ Click on the button “Kuva minu valik” (“Show my selection”).

✅ Close the voter application on your computer and the verification application on your smart device.

For technical questions: +372 600 1247