Five Dutch municipalities to experiment with small ballot in European elections

Five Dutch municipalities will experiment with a smaller, more manageable ballot during the European Parliament election on June 6. The small ballot fits on an A3 paper and contains only the names and logos of the parties and candidate numbers, not names. A list of candidate names will be available at every voting booth and will also be sent to voters in the participating municipalities before the election, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations announced.

The municipalities of Alphen aan den Rijn, Boekel, Borne, Midden-Delfland, and Tynaarlo will participate in the trial. Their municipal councils approved the participation. The votes cast with the new ballot paper will count toward the outcome of the European Parliament election.

The current ballot paper is very large and difficult for voters and polling station members to read and handle. Municipalities have been asking for a new, smaller ballot that is easier and faster to count for some time.

The top half of the new ballot contains the logos and names of the parties in the election. The bottom half contains candidate numbers. Voters can find the names of the candidates in an overview located in every voting booth and sent to them at home before election day. The voter makes their choice by coloring the box for a party and the box for a candidate from that party. That means polling station volunteers don’t have to search through the large ballot for the voter’s marks - they’re easily visible on the same page.

The government thinks the small ballot paper will also be easier for voters to handle and more accessible for voters with a visual impairment. “It is easier to use in combination with an aid, like a voting template and audio support.” Displaying the party logos also promotes accessibility to people with low literacy. Voters in the participating municipality will get extensive information about the new ballot paper in the coming months.

“Elections are the basis of our democracy. It is important that every voter can cast their vote. With this smaller and more handy ballot paper, we want to make the elections even more accessible,” Minister Hugo de Jonge of Home Affairs said. “If the experiment goes well, we want to amend the law as quickly as possible so that everyone can vote with the new ballot paper during the municipal elections in 2026.”