Comment: In the last municipal elections in Finland in 2008, 19.6% of immigrants voted compared with 60% nationally, according to Monitori. The corresponding figure for Sweden is 40% and for Denmark it is 50%-60%.
Niklas Wilhelmsson of the Ministry of Justice states that immigrant is a relatively new phenomenon in Finland. “Normally voter turnout grows the longer immigrants have lived in the country but this does not imply that it will happen automatically,” he said.
Why do you think so few immigrants vote in Finland?
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Maahanmuuttajien äänestysaktiivisuus on pysynyt Suomessa alhaisena siitä asti, kun ulkomaan kansalaiset saivat ensimmäisen kerran äänestää kunnallisvaaleissa vuonna 1992. ”On huolestuttavaa, jos äänestämättä jättäminen ei perustu päätökseen vaan tiedonpuutteeseen tai syrjäytymiseen”, toteaa oikeusministeriön erikoissuunnittelija Niklas Wilhelmsson.
I too would think it would be largely because the system is somewhat foreign for someone who has been in the country for a short time. The strange language hardly helps in getting familiar with the local politics either. Also a newcomer to the country has a lot more mundane issues to concern than local elections. The study has no data if the activity is better among those who have stayed longer (just a general remark), but hopefully it is. I certainly hope that it’s not because they’d feel the elections are not really their matter.
Was there anything in that Monitori article about actually asking immigrants about their voting behaviour, as opposed to merely speculating about it from the comfort of a government office?
If there was, then I missed it.
Looks like arm chair research to me too. There’d be real data about the activity, but nothing about the motivations. As such it does not give any reliable suggestions about how to improve the situation.