Voting in European Parliament elections
You can vote in European Parliament elections if you are a national of the Netherlands or another Member State of the European Union (EU). You also have to meet a number of other requirements. European Parliament elections are held every 5 years.
Last updated 06 June 2024
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Who can vote in European Parliament elections?
You can vote in European Parliament elections in the Netherlands, if you are:
- a Dutch national or a national of another EU Member State;
- at least 18 years old;
- not disqualified from voting (information in Dutch). People can only be disqualified from voting in special circumstances. This can only be done by court judgment.
Y-32 forms for voters from other EU Member States
Voters from other EU Member States must fill in a Y 32 form (in Dutch). This is a one-off registration with your municipality. On the Y-32 form, you declare that you are not voting in the European Parliament election in another country. Otherwise you could vote twice in the same election, which is not allowed.
If you are a Dutch national and you live in the Netherlands, you do not need to fill in a Y-32 form.
Register at least 44 days before the election
You can register to vote in the next European Parliament election up until 44 days before election day.
Your municipality decides whether you can vote
Fill in the Y 32 form and return it to your municipality with a copy of a valid identity document. Your municipality will let you know within 7 days whether you can vote. To prevent people from voting twice, information is checked with other EU Member States.
Changing your mind about where you want to vote
You may change your mind and decide to vote in the European Parliament elections in the EU country of your nationality. In that case you can cancel your registration with your municipality. You must do this no later than 44 days before election day.
Voting in European Parliament elections in the Netherlands
A voting pass (stempas) will be sent to you at least 14 days before the election. You must take the voting pass and your identity document to a polling station (stembureau).
At least 4 days before the election, you will receive the list of candidates and a list of the addresses of the polling stations.
Voting by proxy
If you are unable to vote in person, for example because you have to work or are on holiday, you can authorise another voter to cast your vote on your behalf (information in Dutch). This is called voting by proxy.
Voting in European Parliament elections from outside the Netherlands
If you are a Dutch national but live outside the Netherlands, you have 2 options.
Laws and regulations (in Dutch)
Elections Act, sections Y 2 tot en met Y 4