Here in Holland, when someone is born or has died, you have to tell the town registrar within 3 working days; and if you move to a new town you have to notify them within 3 weeks (sending in a card suffices for that; the new town contacts the old town to square the registry). Then when you turn 18, you're automatically registered to vote. If you're a Dutch citizen you can vote in all the elections, if you're a foreigner who has lived here legally for 5 years you can vote in the local town elections but not the national elections. For every election, the town sends a voting card to every voter in their registry at their registered address. On voting day you hand in the card at the polling station and show legal photo ID (driving license or passport or local ID card - everyone is obliged to have one of those anyway, which is why the cheaper local ID card option was added when that became law, and indigents can get financial assistence to get one). You can designate someone to vote for you and sign for that on the card, if you can't make it to the polling station between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and want a family member to do so for you (I did that for my grandma once); but nobody can hand in more than 5 cards. You can also vote at polling booths at train stations on the way to work, or any polling station within your own town; since the voter rolls became digital you're not limited to a specific polling station. There's also an option for sending the signed voting card back to the town in return for them mailing you an absentee ballot, but I've never tried that so I'm not sure of the details. The voting itself is still done on paper, as it's not yet possible to completely and reliably secure a digital vote, including the possibility of doing recounts. We really do want as many people to vote as possible, so we try to make voting easy without making it mandatory. Still, often only 60% or even less vote; last local elections (always less popular) I think it was only 48%.
Voting in Holland
Then when you turn 18, you're automatically registered to vote. If you're a Dutch citizen you can vote in all the elections, if you're a foreigner who has lived here legally for 5 years you can vote in the local town elections but not the national elections.
For every election, the town sends a voting card to every voter in their registry at their registered address. On voting day you hand in the card at the polling station and show legal photo ID (driving license or passport or local ID card - everyone is obliged to have one of those anyway, which is why the cheaper local ID card option was added when that became law, and indigents can get financial assistence to get one).
You can designate someone to vote for you and sign for that on the card, if you can't make it to the polling station between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and want a family member to do so for you (I did that for my grandma once); but nobody can hand in more than 5 cards.
You can also vote at polling booths at train stations on the way to work, or any polling station within your own town; since the voter rolls became digital you're not limited to a specific polling station.
There's also an option for sending the signed voting card back to the town in return for them mailing you an absentee ballot, but I've never tried that so I'm not sure of the details.
The voting itself is still done on paper, as it's not yet possible to completely and reliably secure a digital vote, including the possibility of doing recounts.
We really do want as many people to vote as possible, so we try to make voting easy without making it mandatory. Still, often only 60% or even less vote; last local elections (always less popular) I think it was only 48%.