Ballot box

In 1988, the National Museum of Finland received three ballot boxes as a donation from the Central Election Committee of the City of Porvoo. The ballot boxes had been used in Porvoo for 80 years, from 1907 to 1987.

The ballot box was made by the Helsinki-based company G. W. Sohlberg, which made a majority of the urns used in the 1907 elections.

In 1907, Finland switched directly from the old-fashioned Assembly of the Estates, which was based on descent and wealth, to universal suffrage and a unicameral parliament. Equal voting rights included, among other things, women’s right to vote. All women were guaranteed the right to vote, as well as the right to stand as a candidate – for the first time in the world.

At once, the number of persons entitled to vote grew tenfold: from 126,000 to 1,172,873, and now the low-income workforce and the tenant farmers also had the opportunity to participate in democratic decision-making.

The first parliamentary elections after the reform were held on 15–16 March 1907. The turnout was more than 70%. The Social Democrats were the winners, receiving 37% of the vote.

However, as the Emperor still made the final decisions, the real breakthrough of parliamentarism came only after Finland gained independence in 1917.