Second Chamber Election 2021

The Second Chamber consists of 150 members, they represent the Dutch population, including you! The role of the Second Chamber is to control the government and to make new laws together with the government. The members therefore decide on important issues such as education, health, environment, economy and more. By voting, you and the other voters determine which parties will be in the Second Chamber. In this way you influence the decision-making process for the next four years.

All voters receive their voting pass at home before election day. You may vote if:

• you are 18 years or older
• have the Dutch nationality
• are not excluded from voting

The public entity determines an individual’s right to vote from the basic administration of the civil registry. If you are registered in this registry and meet the above criteria, you will automatically be sent an invitation (voting pass) for the election. You may contact the Executive Council to check whether you are registered as a voter. If this is not the case and in your opinion you do meet the above criteria, you can submit a request for review of the registration as a voter, where you must provide evidence that you meet the requirements.

You can cast your vote on Wednesday, March 17th from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm at one of the polling stations in your public entity.

Polling stations Bonaire

Polling station St. Eustatius

Polling stations Saba
Early voting is possible on Monday March 15th and Tuesday March 16th from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm at the fire station in the Bottom. Especially for people in high risk groups.

You will need:

• Your personal voting pass
• A valid identification

Personal voting pass

Did you not receive a voting pass? Did you lose it? Or is your voting pass damaged? Request a replacement as soon as possible. This can be done until 5pm on Friday, March 12th, at the Census Office.

Valid identification

A valid identification is a Dutch passport or ID or driver's license from the public entity. Your identification is allowed to be expired for a maximum of 5 years on election day. If you discover before the election day that your ID has expired, you can apply for a new ID at the Census Office. Please take into account the processing time of your application. So make sure to be on time.

Because of covid-19, a number of measures have been taken in the ‘Tijdelijke wet verkiezingen covid-19’ to ensure that the Second Chamber election proceeds as safely as possible. These measures apply throughout the Netherlands, therefore also in the public entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

In the current epidemiological situation on the islands, these measures may seem tough. After all, the infections in the Caribbean Netherlands are low. The goal is to keep it that way. Because the virus is unpredictable, mutating and spreading at a rapid pace, it is necessary to take these preventive measures in the organization of this election. In this way we ensure that everyone can vote as safely as possible.

You will receive information about a health check at home. Do you answer 'yes' to any of the questions in this check? Then do not go to the polling station, but vote by proxy.

When you enter the polling station please disinfect your hands, maintain a distance of 1.5 meters from others and wear your facemask.

Additionally, various measures are taken at the polling stations:

• Protective screens between members of the polling station and voters are placed
• Voting booths are regularly cleaned
• Each voter uses a clean red pencil to fill out his/her ballot.
• Members of the polling station will do a health check before they start working. They also wear a facemask.

Do you have any Coronavirus symptoms? Do not go out to vote yourself but authorize someone to vote on your behalf. This can be done through a written or a private proxy. You can also use a proxy if you are unable to vote for any other reasons.

Please note: the person who casts a vote on your behalf must be a resident on your island and can only do so at the time he or she also votes.

Written proxy
You can give a written proxy when you:

• are eligible to vote,
• know that you will be unable to cast your vote personally on election day,
• have not received your voting pass yet,
• do not have a valid identification,
• have a form of identification that has expired by more than 5 years.

If you would like to make use of a written proxy you will need to pick-up a form at the Census Office. Please fill out the form completely. Make sure that the form is signed both by you and by the person you are authorizing to vote on your behalf. Hand in the completed form at the Census Office no later than on Friday, March 12th before 5pm.

Private proxy
You can give a private proxy when you:

• are eligible to vote,
• know that you will be unable to cast your vote personally on election day,
• have received your voting pass,
• have a valid form of identification.

If you would like to make use of a private proxy, simply fill out the back of your voting pass. That makes you the “principal”, while the person who will be voting on your behalf will be the “authorized person”. Please provide the authorized person with your voting pass and (a copy of) your identification.

Important

• Prevent abuse of your ID. Write on the copy of your identification that it is only meant to be used for casting your proxy vote and ask the authorized person to return the copy after they casted your vote.
• The person who votes on your behalf must be living on the same island as you and can only cast your proxy vote at the same time they deposit their own vote.
• The authorized person can deposit a maximum of two votes on behalf of other people.

Warning!

• Only give someone power of attorney on your behalf if you are unable to go vote yourself.
• Bribery and buying of votes by means of gifts or promises in order to gain power of attorney to vote are illegal and punishable by law.
• The person who is being bribed or whose vote is bought is punishable by law as well.
• If anyone pressures you into giving them power of attorney to vote, report this to the authorities. As a victim you will not be prosecuted.

• You vote by yourself. You cannot be accompanied in the voting booth.
• You cast your vote by coloring the entire white box next to the candidate of your choice with the red colored pencil.
• Made a mistake? Ask for a new voting ballot. You can only do so once.
• After casting your vote, fold the ballot so that the list is not visible.
• Place your voting ballot in the corresponding ballot box

You may cast a blank vote. You do so by not coloring any box. In that case the voting ballot is left completely empty. If you write or draw anything on the voting ballot, you will cast an invalid vote instead of a blank vote.

You vote for one single candidate. Your vote is valid when you color in the entire white box next to the candidate of your choice with the red pencil without writing or drawing anything else on the ballot.

Voting is secret. You are not required to tell anyone who or which party you voted for. People who pressure you are punishable by law. If you feel pressured or threatened in any way, you can report this to the authorities. 

Do you have any physical disability and need assistance to vote? You can receive assistance from a person of your choice or from a member of the polling station. Together we make sure that everyone can vote as safely as possible, therefore, there are a number of things you should take into consideration.

• The polling station member will do a health check with you.
• If it appears that you have answered all questions with 'No', they can give you assistance.
• You will wear a facemask.
• The members of the polling station will wear a face mask and disposable gloves.
• If you have answered 'Yes' to one or more questions, unfortunately assistance cannot be provided. You may still use a proxy and authorize someone to vote on your behalf.