Voting in House of Representatives elections

To vote in House of Representatives elections (Tweede Kamerverkiezingen) you must:  

• Have Dutch nationality;  
• Be at least 18 years of age;  
• Not be excluded from voting (in Dutch). 
• Conditions also apply to residents of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. 
• Dutch residents of the islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten can only vote if they have been residents of the Netherlands for at least 10 years or have worked in Dutch public service on one of these islands. These voters can register with the municipality of Den Haag (The Hague) as overseas voters (in Dutch).

You can vote in House of Representatives elections. You can find more information in English about the House of Representatives elections on the website of the government of the Netherlands.

In the run-up to the elections, a list of candidates will be sent to you at your home address. Information about the political parties and candidates participating in the elections is also published online.

You can cast your vote as follows:

1. You will receive a voting pass no later than Wednesday 8 November 2023 and  a list of candidates by mail no later than Friday 17 November 2023. The information on the voting pass and list will be in Dutch. The same information is on this webpage. 
2. When arriving at the polling station, your voting pass and proof of identity (passport, driving license, or a Netherlands residence permit) are checked. 
   Please note: you are only allowed to cast your vote if you bring both your voting pass and your proof of identity.
3. You will be handed a ballot paper which you take into the voting booth. In there, you use the red pencil to cast your vote for the party candidate of your choice. You can also cast a blank vote: meaning you do not fill in anything. This way, you do use your right to vote but do not express a preference for a certain party or candidate.
4. You drop your ballot paper in the ballot box.

1. Your voting pass. You will receive your voting pass in the post no later than Wednesday 8 November 2023.
2. Proof of identity. This means a passport, identity card, driving license, or a residence permit issued by the Netherlands. If your identity document has expired, the expiry date must be less than 5 years ago.

Please ensure to bring both your voting pass and proof of identity when casting your vote. You will not be allowed to cast your vote if you only bring your voting pass or just your proof of identity.

If you want to authorize someone to cast your vote, they must meet the following requirements:

1. The person you authorize for the House of Representatives elections also lives in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.
2. The person you authorize will also be casting their own vote on Wednesday 22 November 2023. He or she is only allowed to cast your vote if they cast their own vote at the same time.
3. The person you authorize is allowed to cast a vote by proxy for a maximum of 2 other people next to their own vote.

Authorizing someone with your voting pass

You can authorize someone with your voting pass. This works as follows:

1. You fill in the back of the voting pass.
2. You sign the voting pass.
3. Give your voting pass to the person you would like to vote for you.
4. The person authorized by you also signs the voting pass.
5. You provide the person you authorize with a copy of your passport or other proof of identity. This can also be a photo taken on your mobile phone or tablet. Make sure that the information can be read clearly.
6. This person brings the copy and your voting pass along when casting their own vote.

Voting by proxy

Are you unable to cast your vote? Then you can authorize someone else to cast your vote for you by proxy.

• Send a request in writing. Download and fill in the form Verzoek om bij volmacht te stemmen (pdf, in Dutch). Both you and the person who will be voting for you need to complete the form. Send your request by mail to: Gemeente Haarlemmermeer t.a.v. Burgerzaken, antwoordnummer 57, 2130 VB Hoofddorp. You do not need to affix a stamp. The municipality needs the form by Friday 17 November 2023 5 p.m. at the latest. If we receive it later we will not be able to send you an authorization.

If you want to vote in a different municipality, you must apply for a voter’s pass.

• Apply in writing. You download and fill in the form Verzoek om een kiezerspas (pdf, in Dutch). Send the form by mail to: Gemeente Haarlemmermeer t.a.v. Burgerzaken, antwoordnummer 57, 2130 VB Hoofddorp. You do not need to affix a stamp. The municipality needs the form by Friday 17 November 2023 5 p.m. at the latest. If we receive it later we will not be able to send you an authorization.

A voter’s pass enables you to vote at any polling station in The Netherlands.

You can cast your vote at one of the polling stations in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. You can check where the polling stations in each town are on the webpage Stembureaus (in Dutch). Most polling stations are wheelchair accessible. One polling station has facilities for people with a visual impairment. Polling stations are open from 7.30 a.m. until 9 p.m.

You can cast your vote as follows:

1. You will receive a voting pass no later than Wednesday 8 November 2023 and  a list of candidates by mail no later than Friday 17 November 2023. The information on the voting pass and list will be in Dutch. The same information is on this webpage. 
2. When arriving at the polling station, your voting pass and proof of identity (passport, driving license or a Netherlands residence permit) are checked. 
   Please note: you are only allowed to cast your vote if you bring both your voting pass and your proof of identity.
3. You will be handed a ballot paper which you take into the voting booth. In there, you use the red pencil to cast your vote for the party candidate of your choice. You can also cast a blank vote: meaning you do not fill in anything. This way, you do use your right to vote but do not express a preference for a certain party or candidate.
4. You drop your ballot paper in the ballot box.

One polling station in the municipality has devices available to help you cast your vote. These are a voting mold and a soundbox. You can use these to cast your vote.

The voting mold and soundbox are available at: C. (this was previously called Cultuurgebouw), Raadhuisplein 3 in Hoofddorp. 

Are you unable to visit voting station C. in Hoofddorp? Please call municipality Haarlemmermeer via 0900 1852. We will help you arrange transportation to and from the voting station.

Voting with a voting mold and soundbox

The voting mold has been specially developed for the ballot paper. You place the mold with the holes on top of the ballot paper. The soundbox with headset then tells you which parties and candidates are listed on the ballot paper. It also tells you the number of your preferred party and candidate on the list.

The mold itself is equipped with tactile numbers and braille indicating the different parties. You can find your preferred candidate by counting holes underneath your preferred party. You can then use the pencil to color the desired box red.

You will receive your voting pass in the mail no later than Wednesday 8 November.

The votes will be counted on Wednesday 22 November after 9 p.m. and on Thursday 23 November. This means that the ballot boxes are opened and that the counters keep track of each valid, invalid, and blank vote. Of course, the counters also look at how many votes have been cast by proxy. All this information for each polling station is registered in an official record, the so-called proces-verbaal, which is then submitted at the main polling station: Van Zantenhal in Nieuw-Vennep.

The vote counting is public. This means that you can notify a polling station that you would want to watch the counting. You can then come in and watch.

This happens on Monday 27 November 2023. During that day the website will also be updated with the final allocations of seats in the House of Representatives.

If you have further questions, you can send an email to verkiezingen@haarlemmermeer.nl. Or call 0900 1852.