On Wednesday 15 March elections for the provincial councils (Provinciale Staten) and water authorities (waterschappen) will be held. By voting, you help determine who gets to decide on the plans for the province and water authority over the next four years.
When can you vote?
You can vote on Wednesday 15 March, from 7.30 to 21.00.
Who can you vote for?
On the websites of your province and water authority, you’ll find information about the political parties and candidates participating in the elections.
In the run-up to the elections a list of candidates will be sent to you at your home address. You can read about the candidates’ plans on their parties’ websites.
Who can vote?
Provincial elections
To be able to vote in the provincial elections, you must:
- hold Dutch citizenship;
- be at least 18 years of age;
- live in the province where the election is;
- not be excluded from voting (in Dutch).
Water authority elections
To be able to vote in water authority elections, you must:
- be at least 18 years of age;
- be a resident of an area covered by the water authority; you are entitled to vote for the water authority where you live on the day when the candidates are nominated, i.e. 44 days before the election;
- hold Dutch citizenship or citizenship of another EU member state, or you have a lawful residence in the Netherlands;
- not be excluded from voting (in Dutch).
What do you need in order to vote?
At the poling station, you must show:
- Your ‘stempassen’ (voting passes ). You should have received your voting passes in the post no later than Wednesday 1 March.
- Proof of your identity (in Dutch).
The following are considered valid proof of ID:- all passports, identity cards and driving licences from EU countries and from EER countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway;
- a passport or identity card from Switzerland or
- a document proving your residence permit issued by the Netherlands (only allowed for water authority elections).
If your identity document has expired, the expiry date must be less than five years ago.
If your voting pass is lost or damaged, please contact your municipality and request a new one. This can be done in writing up to Friday 10 March or in person at your local municipal office until Tuesday 14 March at 12.00 PM.
Where to vote?
To find the ‘stembureau’ (polling station) nearest to you, visit your municipality’s website or waarismijnstemlokaal.nl (in Dutch).
Shortly before the elections, you will also be sent an overview of all polling stations in the post.
Accessibility of polling stations
If you have a question about the accessibility of a polling station, you can visit waarismijnstemlokaal.nl (in Dutch). There, you can find information about which polling stations have facilities for people with a visual impairment or wheelchair users. You can also ask the municipality about this.
Vote in a different municipality
If you want to vote in a different municipality, you must apply for ‘kiezerspassen’ (voter’s passes ): 1 for the provincial council elections and 1 for the water authority elections.
You can do so
- in writing until Friday 10 March or
- in person at your local municipal office until Tuesday 14 March at 12.00 PM.
Voter’s passes enable you to vote in the provincial council and water authority elections at any polling station in your province or the area served by your water authority.
Unable to vote yourself?
If you are unable to get to the polling station, you can authorise someone else to vote for you. You can do this in two ways:
- By transferring your voting pass to them
Fill in the back of your ‘stempas’ (voting pass).
Give your voting pass to the person you would like to vote for you. You should also give this person a copy of your identity document. This can also be a photo taken on your mobile phone or tablet. Make sure that the information can be clearly read.
- By written proxy
For this, you need to request a form ‘verzoek om bij volmacht te stemmen’ (request to vote by written proxy) from your municipality. Both you and the person who will be voting for you need to complete the form. Return the form to the municipality no later than Friday 10 March.
More information
Visit the website of your municipality or elkestemtelt.nl (in Dutch).
Source: Government of the Netherlands
