How do I prepare for voting?

But how do you decide who to vote for?

Before elections, parties write programs. In those programs, they show what they think is important. They also write down what their plans are. That way you know what they are for and against. You can find the programs on the parties’ websites.

Reading all the programs is a lot of work. That’s why there are tools. For example, you can use an online dialing tool. These electoral aids are only available for the City Council, not for the district committees and the Weesp Administrative Committee. Every resident of Amsterdam does receive an election paper in the mail containing a list of candidates for the districts.

By using a voter guide, such as Stemwijzer, Young Voice (especially for young people), or Het Parool ‘s voter guide, you can find out which party thinks the same things are important to you.

In a voting aid, you answer questions about what matters to you. The parties answered the same questions. Once you answer the questions, you can see which party you have the most in common with.

Because there are many parties, voting aids often allow you to choose which parties you want to compare. For example, you can choose parties you already know. You can also choose parties that are already on the city council.

You can also (re)watch debates on AT5, follow parties or politicians on social media and talk about the election with friends or family. Have you found your party? Then also look at the people on that party’s candidate list: who appeals to you and who seems to fit well with your ideas? After all, you don’t just elect a party: you vote for a person who helps determine on your behalf how the city is run.

Electoral aids

One of the voting aids is called the VoteWijzer. The Voting Guide for the Amsterdam City Council can be found here. With the VoteWijzer, you get thirty propositions. You can choose agree, disagree or neither. Don’t you have an opinion? Then you can also skip the thesis. Another voting aid is the Electoral Compass. This voting aid will be available starting March 4.

You can also use the StemWijzer or Kieskompas to determine which parties you want to read the program of. That way, you don’t have to read all the programs, but you decide entirely which party you end up voting for.

How do you decide which person to vote for?

Have you found your party? Then also look at the people on that party’s candidate list: who appeals to you and who seems to fit well with your ideas? After all, you don’t just elect a party: you vote for a person who will help determine how the city is run on your behalf.
The easiest thing to do is to vote for the top person on the list. This person is called the list leader. You can also choose someone else on the list. For the party, it does not matter. The person you vote for thus has a greater chance of being elected.