Governance and democracy
Everyone counts: turnout and under-represented groups
Amsterdammers with a migration background, young people and those with vocational education vote less often. Carla made sure the Ghanaian and Antillean communities in Zuidoost were included in the research into voter turnout, and kept pushing for an approach that really reaches people.
What Carla did
Commitment
Carla pointed out that the large Ghanaian community and people from the former Netherlands Antilles were missing from the research proposal. Mayor Halsema committed to including them.
Council
On the turnout action plan, Carla questioned the mayor about the low turnout at the previous elections.
Amendment
Amendment 261 (Broersen et al., with Kabamba) on reaching under-represented groups: carried unanimously.
Committee
On the Under-represented Amsterdam study, Carla recognised the distrust from her own experience and pointed to organisations such as Represent Jezelf.
Motion
Motion 098 (Nadif et al., with Kabamba): adopt the study’s conclusions. Adopted.
Committee
Ahead of the elections, Carla asked why polling stations in Zuidoost are hard to find and called for better accessibility.