‘Say it’s nine o’clock in the evening. The polling station is closed, but there is still a line of people in front of the door. What do you do then?” asks Laura van Rutten (31), election project leader for the municipalities of Lisse, Hillegom and Teylingen. On a Thursday evening, she looks around a room filled with twelve young people in the Lisse town hall.
The young adults, a group of twelve 18 to 25 year olds, are presented with four options. With every answer presented, a number of people raise their hands, silently and doubtfully. The correct answer – a volunteer will have to stand behind the last person in line at 9 p.m., the people behind this person will then no longer be allowed to vote – is guessed correctly by a small portion of those present.
In the upcoming municipal elections, the young people will run their own polling station at the Fioretti-College, a secondary school in the village. A few weeks beforehand they follow a training course to prepare for this. The aim is to get a younger target group more involved in the elections.
Moreover, the municipality could really use a young, fresh group of volunteers. “Over the years, we have always had difficulty finding people during the elections, even to man polling stations,” says spokesperson Anchrit Edelaar. Sometimes it is still exciting until the last moment whether this will work, when counters fail. A large proportion, more than 60 percent, consists of people over 55. “We would therefore like to expand the pool of volunteers.”
Nationally, the share of older vote counters is even higher. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of volunteers in the recent House of Representatives elections were over 55 and only 7 percent were between 18 and 34 years old. This is evident from a study by Centerdata, which, on behalf of the Electoral Council, mapped out who in the Netherlands made themselves available on election days.
Explanation of the rules at a polling station.
Photo Zara Nor
The do’s and don’ts
The young people will hear everything during the training evening in the town hall do’s and don’ts about running a polling station. Eighteen-year-old Elsa Sliep is in her final year of grammar school at Fioretti College and read the call via her school email. Together with her two friends Rosanne Oudt (she turns eighteen at the beginning of this month) and Lily-Rose Rodenberg (18) she decided to help. “I just find it interesting to see how such a day goes,” says Sliep during the break at the coffee maker. Her friends nod in agreement.
But the money they get for it (130 euros for a day) is also nice. “We all want to go on an exam trip this year, so it’s nice to have a day of fun,” says Rodenberg. “It is much more than I now earn per hour at my part-time job,” Oudt adds.
The shortage of vote counters varies per municipality and per election. This way, the student cities can easily attract enough people and recruitment for the House of Representatives elections often goes a lot easier. But that is a different story during elections for the European Parliament, says a spokesperson for the Electoral Council. This often falls at the end of May or the beginning of June. “Many elderly people are on holiday then.”
The fact that the majority of vote counters are older is not the main reason for shortages. On the contrary: because the Netherlands is aging, this has a positive effect on the number of vote counters, a larger pool is willing to help with the counting. However, a spokesperson for the Electoral Council also adds a comment: “From a democratic perspective, it is important to involve as many people as possible in elections. Unfortunately, the younger target group is now lagging behind in this.”
After the training, the young people test their knowledge using a quiz.
Photo Zara Nor
Marketing machine
With a shortage of younger counters, you also miss the input to involve younger voters in the elections. During the training in Lisse, a true marketing machine emerges.
„The cat is out of the bag“, assures employee Ester den Hertog (58), while she sits on a bar stool at the back of the room. “We expect the whole of Lisse to be in the Fio [Fioretti-College] is going to vote. NRC there is, View of Lisse [een lokaal medium] is there,” she says beaming. They already have the attention, but they also want to keep it.
“We can make Instagram videos on the day itself and post them on the municipality’s account?”, suggests participant Sliep. That is well received. “A social media takeover“, municipal employee Malou Cinanni (41) mentions. The idea of making a ‘selfie’ poster, which says ‘I voted at the youth polling station’, is mentioned. Participant Lisanne de Winter (24) suggests making posters on her iPad.
Vlogging on an assault course
Cinanni and Den Hartog already have an idea themselves. For example, they suggest placing a seventeen-meter obstacle course in front of the entrance to the Fioretti College. “That you first have to go through an obstacle course before you can even vote,” says Cinanni, laughing. “Then there is a little more dynamic energy around the polling station,” she explains. “All polling stations must of course be accessible, so you must also be able to walk around them,” she quickly adds.
The idea is initially received lukewarmly, but then a number of participants say they find it funny. A young person continues brainstorming. “Nice to vlog while you run through the obstacle course.”
Spokesman Edelaar thinks that the initiative is “a fun way to involve young people in municipal politics, at least for one day.” But she also hopes that “a few will stick around in politics or want to get involved in other projects. That is super important for us, they are the future.”
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