Holding municipal and regional elections simultaneously caused a slew of problems at polling stations, according to election workers interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat.
Visa Salokoski, who served as chair of the Järvensivu polling station board in Tampere for the fifth time, said voters required more guidance on election day than in previous elections.
“There were many more voters than before who felt they had made a mistake and asked for a new ballot,” Salokoski said.
She said election workers expected some rejected ballots due to confusion but were surprised by how many were filled out incorrectly.
In total, more than 125,400 votes were rejected across both elections. In the previous municipal and county elections, held in different years (2021 and 2022), the combined number of rejected ballots was 18,600.
This time, nearly 84,000 votes were rejected in the county elections alone — almost a dozen times more than in the previous round.
Nationwide, 4.1 percent of county election votes and 1.7 percent of municipal votes were rejected this year.
A vote is rejected if there is an incorrect marking on the ballot, which is sometimes done intentionally as a form of protest vote.
However, according to Salokoski, one of the most common reasons for rejection this time was voters simply incorrectly putting county election candidate numbers on municipal ballots.
Some also crossed out an incorrect number and wrote a new one beside it. Even if the voter's intent was clear, such ballots were still disqualified.
Polling stations used different procedures across the country. In some municipalities, like Vantaa, separate booths were set up for each election, while in others, like Tampere, voters filled out both ballots in the same booth.
Annika Jokinen, election supervisor in Espoo's Iso Omena early voting station, noted that voters spent more time in booths than in previous years. She suspected some who made mistakes were too embarrassed to ask for a new ballot.
According to Jokinen, holding two elections at the same time is not impossible, but she said the way combined elections are carried out needs to be reconsidered.
"If we have double elections again in four years, there are definitely areas and practices that will need to be looked at to make the system work better."
Overtourism in Rovaniemi?
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reports that the New York Times has published a sharply critical piece on the negative effects of tourism in Rovaniemi.
Published on Tuesday, the article describes the city as almost "unlivable" for locals due to its tourism boom.
The article recounts Rovaniemi’s history, features interviews with locals and even Santa Claus about the downsides of mass tourism in the small community.
A local activist mentioned that the rise of short-term rentals has led to disruptions in the area. However, NYT also points out that many locals also benefit from the rental boom — with some earning up to 500 euros a night.
The article stresses that the issue isn't tourism or rentals per se, but the overwhelming scale of it all, calling it the "Santa industrial complex".
And what does Santa think of it all?
"The people who benefit are happy," Santa told NYT. "Those who don’t — they’re jealous."
Wear sunscreen
With temperatures getting exceptionally warm this week, Aamulehti highlights the need for people to start protecting their skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
The paper quotes Foreca's blog, which says that UV radiation will intensify by mid-April, with the index reaching three, making sun protection with clothing and sunscreen advisable.
Foreca warns that with a moderate UV index (3-5), fair-skinned people may burn in less than 30 minutes. Increased UV radiation in Southern and Central Finland will last from mid-April to early September.
In midsummer, UV levels in Southern Finland can reach 6–7, so midday sun exposure should be avoided. In the north, the index may also exceed four on certain days.
Foreca warns that excessive UV radiation can cause long-term health issues, and skin can burn even in cool, sunny weather, as temperature doesn't affect UV strength. Skin can also be sunburned on cloudy days, though the severity of such burns depends on how cloudy it is.
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