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Advance voting outside electoral district of residence

Voters who are unable to vote at the electoral district of their residence during advance voting days or on election day can use the opportunity of advance voting outside the electoral district of residence.

For that, at least one voting district polling place is open in each rural municipality or city from the sixth day to the third day before election day (from Monday to Thursday). Information on the location of the polling places open in all rural municipalities and cities during the advance voting period can be found on the elections website.

Voting opens at 12 noon and closes at 8 p.m.

A person’s right to vote is ascertained by their personal identification code. Voters must carry an identity document. Upon presentation of an identity document, a member of the voting district committee issues the voter a ballot paper and two envelopes. The voter signs the list of voters against receipt of the ballot paper, and a notification on their voting is made in the electronic list of voters.

At the elections of Riigikogu and municipal councils, the voting district committee also gives the voter a copy of the consolidated list of candidates in the electoral district of residence of the voter, which must be returned to the voting district committee after voting.

The ballot paper must be completed in the voting booth designated for voters voting outside the voting district of their residence. The voter writes the registration number of the candidate they vote for on the ballot paper. In a referendum, the wording of the issue or the title of the draft Act submitted to the referendum, and spaces marked with “jah” (‘yes’) and “ei” (‘no’) are entered on the ballot paper. The voter indicates their preference by writing “x” or another comprehensible symbol.

After completing the ballot paper, the voter places it in the internal (smaller) envelope received from a member of the voting district committee, and then places the envelope in the outer (larger) envelope. The voter’s name, personal identification code and residential address according to the population register as of 30 days before the election day are written on the outer envelope. If it is not possible to print the envelope, a member of the voting district committee or the voter themselves fills in the envelope in their own hand.

The voter deposits the ballot paper in the envelope in the ballot box designated for the ballot papers of voters who vote outside the voting district of their residence. Each voter votes for themselves, and it is not allowed to authorise anyone else to do it. If a voter is unable to complete the ballot paper themselves due to a physical disability, another voter, but not a candidate, can do so at their request and in their presence.

At the Riigikogu elections, the Estonian citizens who are staying in Estonia but reside permanently abroad can vote at the voting districts where voting outside electoral districts of residence is organised during the advance voting. At the European Parliament elections, the Estonian citizens who are staying in Estonia but reside permanently abroad can vote at all voting districts during advance voting and on election day.