Smoother elections. Less paperwork. The same democratic process, done digitally.

Dutch elections rely on thousands of polling station staff who manage voter check-in, turnout tracking, and end-of-day reporting on paper. The process works, but it is slow, error-prone, and creates hours of administrative work at exactly the moment when staff are most tired.

The Stembureau app digitises the core polling station workflow: checking in voters, tracking turnout in real time, and flagging anomalies that previously only surfaced during manual reconciliation at the end of the day.

Digital voter check-in for polling station staff

The app replaces the paper voter register with a digital interface that is fast enough to use at peak check-in times, simple enough for polling station workers who may only use it once a year, and reliable enough to operate without internet connectivity if needed. The UX was designed by a trusted partner around the actual physical workflow of a polling station, not a generalised form interface.

Real-time turnout tracking across the day

Turnout data that previously required manual counting at intervals is now captured automatically as voters are checked in. Local authorities and coordination teams get live visibility into participation rates, enabling faster decisions about staffing and resource allocation during the day.

Anomaly detection that surfaces issues early

Discrepancies that previously only appeared during end-of-day reconciliation, double registrations, out-of-district voters, administrative errors, are now flagged in real time. Staff can address issues as they arise rather than discovering them after the polls close.

Why a web app over native?

Polling stations use a wide variety of hardware: tablets, laptops, and older devices that may not run the latest OS. A web app removes the dependency on a specific platform or app store update cycle. The app works on any modern browser, which means it can be deployed to whatever devices a municipality already has without new hardware procurement.

Election software operates in a context where reliability and auditability are non-negotiable. Elements worked with election authority representatives to map every step of the polling station workflow and ensure the digital process matched the legal requirements exactly. The app was tested in pilot polling stations before nationwide deployment.

The web app foundation can extend to additional election administration tasks: ballot tracking, result reporting, and staff coordination. Each addition builds on the same browser-based infrastructure without requiring new hardware or installation.