Over seventy local political party leaders in the Netherlands are protesting a planned reduction in ballot size set for 2029. The government intends to introduce smaller ballots to expedite vote counting, having tested the model in limited recent elections. However, these local parties argue the new format, which lists only party names and candidate numbers, undermines the Dutch electoral system. They believe voters should be able to see candidate names directly on the ballot, as they traditionally vote for individuals, not just parties. Party leaders fear the new system will require extra effort from voters to select a preferred candidate and diminishes the individual representation aspect of local elections. They are urging the minister to revise the ballot design to include candidate names or abandon the smaller ballot altogether for municipal elections. They support modernizing the electoral process, but disagree with this particular implementation.