Authors

• Peltoniemi, Johanna (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Wass, Hanna (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Nemcok, Miroslav (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Weide, Marjukka (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Keywords

European parliament elections, elections, expatriates, living abroad, national identity, parliamentary elections, political participation, satisfaction, social influence, suffrage, voting, voting behaviour

Abstract

The survey charted various aspects of Finnish expatriates' political participation. Main topics of the survey included the 2019 Finnish parliamentary elections and postal voting, which was introduced during the elections. The survey was collected as part of the Facilitating Electoral Participation from Abroad (FACE) research project, and continued to study the themes of a previous survey (FSD3463 Finnish Expatriates' National Identity and Political Participation 2014).

Questions surveyed the respondents' voting behaviour, social participation, and general interest in politics. The respondents were asked about following politics in the media, forms of political participation they had engaged in (e.g. signing a petition, participating in a demonstration), participation in citizens' initiatives, and membership and participation in associations and organisations. Voting was examined with questions on, for example, the most important topics affecting the respondent's voting choice, the most effective means for increasing the voter turnout of Finnish expatriates, and the usefulness of postal voting.

The respondents were asked how satisfied they were with various aspects related to their own life, Finland, and their country of residence, and their trust in several institutions was examined. The respondents' sources of information on the parliamentary elections, e.g. candidates' or parties' websites or voting advice applications, were also surveyed. The survey included three open-ended questions on how the respondents chose the candidate they voted for or why they did not vote at all, which received a large number of responses (q24, q25 and q30). Responses were written in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, highest level of education, occupation, marital status, reasons for moving abroad, current connections to Finland, and perceived social class and status.