Voters in five local council areas will test out new, smaller ballot papers in the European elections on June 6 – in an effort to reduce the current massive voting papers to a more manageable size.

The new A3 format will replace the one metre-wide ballot paper that voters have been struggling to unfold – and refold – in voting booths and which, despite their size, are not easy to read.

The papers are so big because they include both the name of every party in the election and every candidate. At the last general election in November, for example, 26 parties were listed on the ballot, each with up to 50 names.

The trial, conducted in Alphen aan den Rijn, Boekel, Borne, Midden-Delfland and Tynaarlo, will require voters to check two boxes, one for the party and one for a number representing the candidate.

The names of the candidates will be printed on a paper on the wall of the voting booth and are also in a booklet sent to voters.

Caretaker home affairs minister Hugo de Jonge said the new system would make voting “easier and more accessible” and that he didn’t expect the double tick would make the voting process too complicated.

If the trial is a success, the smaller ballot papers will be used at next local elections in 2026, De Jonge said.