I want to cast my vote - but how do I prepare?

But how do you decide who to vote for?

Before elections, parties write programmes. In those programmes, they show what they consider important. They also write down what their plans are. So you know what they are for and against. You can find the programmes on the parties' websites.

Reading all the programmes is a lot of work. That's why there are tools. For example, you can use an online electoral aid. These electoral aids are only available for the city council, not for the district councils and the Weesp administrative committee. Every resident of Amsterdam does receive an election paper in the mail containing a list of candidates for the boroughs.

By using a dialing aid, such as Vote guide, Young Voice (especially for young people), or The Parool's voter guide you can find out which party values the same things as you.

In a voting aid, you answer questions about what you think is important. Parties have answered the same questions. Once you have answered 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 in the municipal council.

You can also (re)watch debates on AT5, follow parties or politicians on social media and talk about the elections 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 in well with your ideas? After all, you are not just choosing a party: you are voting for a person who will help determine how the city is run on your behalf.

Electoral aids

One of the voting aids is called the StemWijzer. You will find the Voter Guide for the Amsterdam city council here. With the VoteWijzer, you get 30 statements. You can choose agree, disagree or neither. Don't have an opinion? Then you can also skip the statement. Another voting aid is the Kieskompas. It will be available from 4 March.

You can also use StemWijzer or Kieskompas to determine which parties' manifestos you want to read. This way you do not have to read all the manifestos, but you can decide for yourself which party you will eventually vote 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 in well with your ideas? After all, you are not just choosing a party: you are voting for a person who will help determine how the city is governed on your behalf.

The easiest way is to choose the top person on the list. This person is called the list leader. You can also choose someone else on the list. It makes no difference to the party. The person you vote for thus has a greater chance of being elected.

A little help from AI?
You can also use AI tools to find out more about the positions of local political parties. Just be aware that information from AI is not always reliable. Try to use multiple sources and don't let your vote depend on an AI opinion.