Ayşe (not her real name) moves from Eindhoven to Tilburg. She informs the municipality of Tilburg of her new address. She receives confirmation that the address change will be processed. She unpacks her moving boxes and starts painting her walls a nice color.
The municipal elections are approaching. She has already completed the voting guide because she finds these elections important. She hears through the grapevine that her voting pass was delivered to her old address in Eindhoven. But she is no longer allowed to vote in her old residence. She has been deregistered there. In Tilburg, she cannot get a new pass because according to the system she is not yet registered there.
Slow processing
The municipality of Tilburg did not process the address change before the date that determines in which municipality you may vote. Therefore, the voting pass was still sent to the old address. Ayşe is the victim of the slow processing of her address change, even though she was on time. She calls both municipalities. She receives detailed explanations about the rules and systems and knows exactly what went wrong. But her problem remains the same: she cannot vote in her new municipality Tilburg. And that is what matters. Why cant they just arrange it so she can vote?
Unclear
The elections are approaching and Ayşe still does not know if she can vote. She has done everything that was asked of her, yet she seems to be stuck in rules and counters. She does not want explanations about systems. She just wants to cast her vote. Municipality Tilburg, please arrange this.
Facts
Because the elections are really approaching now, she reports to the National Ombudsman. We lay out the facts. Ayşe reported her move on time. The municipality of Tilburg was late with the official registration. We point out to the municipality that voting is a fundamental right and that they are responsible for arranging this. After our contact with the municipality, Tilburg acknowledges the slow processing of the registration. A valid voting pass is arranged after all. Fortunately, Ayşe will be able to vote soon.
Proper conduct
I often see that a system seems more important than peoples problems. If the government knows that someone has taken all necessary steps on time, it should not blame the system but arrange it quickly. That is a matter of proper conduct. Otherwise, not only is a vote lost, but also Ayşes trust in the government.
This column appeared in De Telegraaf on February 28, 2026. The person in the photo is not the person in the text.