Drenthe Kiest: Dozens of polling stations open on first election day

The first polling stations in Drenthe opened this morning. In these municipal elections, three days have been set aside for voters to cast their votes, instead of just the traditional Wednesday.

At eight o’clock the doors of dozens of polling stations in Drenthe opened. Not all of them yet, so you have to see where you can go. An overview of the polling stations that are open on the different days can be found here.

Long day at the polling station

The Red Cross Building is one of seven polling stations in Assen that are already open this morning. The first voter at that polling station was one of the members who monitor the state of affairs. The ‘three behind the table’ expect a long day, because the polling station is open until nine o’clock tonight.

“It often gets going in this neighborhood around ten o’clock,” says Hanneke Ehrhardt. She is the president of the polling station. “It often gets busy here a bit later, there are also care homes in the area, for example. They often come this way from ten o’clock.”

On the table is a whole series of red pencils. Because every voter in Assen can keep the pencil. “And they’re really nice pencils, so…”, Ehrhardt laughs.

Only count on Wednesday

The votes cast on Monday or Tuesday will not be counted until Wednesday. Ehrhardt: “The wheelie bin with ballots will go to the town hall in Assen tonight. It will remain closed there until Wednesday. The votes will only be counted on Wednesday evening.”

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