More than 250,000 Dutch people to the polls | Inland

Two new municipalities are being created in North Brabant. Boxmeer, Cuijk, Grave, Mill and Sint Hubert and Sint Anthonis will become the municipality of Land van Cuijk, and Uden and Landerd will become the municipality of Maashorst. In North Holland, Heerhugowaard and Langedijk will form the new municipality of Dijk en Waard and Beemster will join the municipality of Purmerend.

Most polling stations don’t open until Wednesday, but in some polling stations it is already possible to vote on Monday and Tuesday. “During the elections to the House of Representatives, early voting was intended for vulnerable target groups, but now it is for everyone,” says a spokesperson for the municipality of Uden. “The fact that it is spread over three days is great for promoting attendance, but it also works out well in the case of corona.”

Residents of Uden and Landerd can also use an online pressure meter, which indicates how busy it is at the polling stations. “Then people can decide on the basis of that to go to another polling station, or to come back later,” said the spokesperson.

Mondkapjesplicht

Face masks are compulsory in all polling stations, but showing a corona ticket is not necessary. Furthermore, the polling stations are cleaned extra often and the advice applies to keep 1.5 meters away. Anyone who has complaints that match the coronavirus are asked not to come to the polling station, but to cast their vote via an authorization.

In the municipalities of Heerhugowaard and Langedijk, it is possible to vote in a drive-through polling station at a number of locations. People can vote there from the car or from the motorcycle, but cyclists and pedestrians are also welcome. “We started it during the parliamentary elections and it worked very well. It turned out to be especially nice for people to vote from the car. Now that the infections are rising again, we like to offer voters options,” said a municipal spokesperson.

The polling places open at 7:30 AM and close around 9:00 PM. Municipalities expect to be able to report the results of the elections around midnight on Wednesday. Residents of the merged municipalities will not have to go to the polls again for the municipal elections next March. This also applies to those of the municipalities of Oisterwijk, Boxtel, Vught and Eemsdelta, which were reclassified in 2020.

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