Study title

The survey studied voting behaviour in the 2021 county elections in Finland. The data were collected just after the elections. First, the respondents' opinions on the importance of various elections (e.g. parliamentary, presidential, county, municipal) were surveyed. The respondents were asked whether they had followed election reporting, campaigning and advertising in different media (including the social media such as Facebook). Opinions on the importance of the different services provided by the wellbeing services counties and topics related to the wellbeing services counties were explored. Voting behaviour was investigated by asking whether the respondents had voted in the county elections just held, which party they had voted for and whether the candidate or the party had been more important in the choice. Information sources used for the voting choice were studied. Those who had voted were asked why they voted, which factors and issues had influenced their candidate choice, and at which stage they had made their final choice. The respondents who had voted were also asked whether they had considered voting for candidates from any of the other parties, and which parties they in general would consider voting for. Those who had not voted were asked which factors (e.g. 'I had trouble finding a suitable candidate for myself”, 'I did not have enough information about topics that are important for me in order to make a decision”) had contributed to that decision. Next, views on the parties' election campaigns were surveyed. The respondents' views on the desirability of different directions for the future of Finland were investigated with a series of statements (e.g. Finland where there is more law and order, Finland with a smaller public sector, Finland with lower income inequality). The respondents were also asked to assess how left-wing and right-wing several political parties in Finland are. Additionally, the respondents were asked whether they had voted in the...