Municipality of Westerwolde: voting in municipal elections

Do you want to ask someone to vote on your behalf? In that case you can authorise another voter to cast your vote on your behalf. This is possible with:

• your stempas (polling card)
• an authorization form

Authorising someone with the polling card

This is how you authorise someone with your polling card:

1. Complete the back of your polling card. Do this together with the person you want to authorise, that way you will ensure you are authorising the correct person. 
2. Provide the proxy with your polling card and a copy of your ID. This proof of identity may be expired for a maximum of 5 years.
3. The authorised person will show the copy of your ID at the polling station. The authorised representative must also show his or her own proof of identity.

The proxy can only vote on your behalf when casting his own vote. An authorised representative can vote for a maximum of two other persons.

Authorising someone with an authorisation form

You can also give another voter authorisation to vote for you using an authorisation form. This is called a written power of attorney. A couple of weeks before the elections, you can obtain a form for this purpose from your municipality.

You authorise someone with an authorisation form as follows:

1. Both you and the person who will vote for you (the proxy) must complete the form. First the person you want to authorise, followed by yourself. This way, you will make certain you are authorising the correct person.
2. You will submit the form to your municipality.
3. The proxy will receive a power of attorney certificate allowing them to vote for you. Once the municipality has approved the power of attorney, the power of attorney cannot be revoked.
4. The proxy will take the written proof of attorney to the polling station. You do not need to give a copy of your ID. The proxy can only vote on your behalf when casting their own vote.

The municipality will provide polling cards, candidate lists and voting locations. You will receive your polling card and list of candidates by mail.