Early voter turnout high in Netherlands elections

By midmorning on Wednesday the voter turnout for the parliamentary elections was higher than it was for the previous election in 2012. According to a survey by Ipsos, by 10:30 a.m. 15 percent of voters cast their votes, compared to 13 percent at the same time in the 2012 election, the Telegraaf reports.

The Ipsos survey is based on 43 selected polling stations throughout the Netherlands. Each voter is counted at those stations.

Dutch municipalities also started releasing voter turnout figures, and so far most are higher than in the 2012 election. By 10:00 a.m. 12 percent of voters in The Hague cast their votes, compared to 11.3 percent in 2012. Rotterdam had a 12.3 percent turnout by 10:05 a.m., though did not release figures for the previous election. No figures from Amsterdam or Utrecht yet.

In Breda there was a 12.9 percent turnout by 10:00 a.m., compared to 12.3 percent. Dordrecht saw a big increase - 15.95 percent compared to 10.1 percent. In Ameland a massive 35 percent of voters already cast their vote by 11:00 a.m.