Hääletavad

Hääletavad is a term derived from the Estonian verb hääletada, which means “to vote.” The word is the third‑person plural present indicative form of the verb, translating literally as “they vote,” and it may be used in contexts where the focus is on the collective action of voting. In Estonian political discourse, the noun form hääletav or hääletav inimene is commonly used instead of hääletavad to denote individuals who possess the right or are exercising the right to vote. However, the participial form hääletavad is occasionally employed as an adjective or participle, as in phrases such as “hääletavad valijad” (voting electorate) or “hääletavad valdkonnad” (voting areas).

The construction follows regular Estonian verb morphology: hää­- (root “voice” or “vote”), -la (verb marker), -da (infinitive ending). The present indicative is modified by adding the appropriate person and number suffixes: -vad for the third‑person plural. Because Estonian is an agglutinative language, hääletavad can combine with other suffixes to express complex grammatical relations, for example, hääletavatest (from those who vote).

In census data, election reports, and legal texts describing the rights of citizens over 18, usage of hääletavad typically clarifies the active participation of a group in a voting process. The term is neutral and factual, often accompanied by statistical points such as turnout rates or demographic breakdowns of the hääletavad.