The Hague accidentally sent voting passes to 1,466 Brits
The municipality of The Hague accidentally sent voting passes for the upcoming municipal elections to 1,466 British nationals who aren't entitled to vote after the Brexit. The city invalidated these voting passes and sent the affected people a letter of explanation and apology, the office of mayor and aldermen said to the city council.
After the Brexit, UK nationals are no longer EU citizens, which means they can't automatically vote in the municipal elections. They must meet the requirements of non-EU citizens to vote, including that they lived in the Netherlands for five consecutive years.
"Due to an error in the selection of the voter base, people with British nationality who have been staying in the Netherlands for less than five years were wrongly included in the voter base. Their British nationality was still listed as an EU nationality," the mayor and aldermen explained.
The city will inform those involved as quickly as possible that they incorrectly received a voting pass. The city's helpdesk and the polling stations will also be informed to help anyone who shows up with an invalid voting pass. "We will of course investigate further how this unpleasant situation could have arisen."
