Title: Repetition of 20% of Bundestag Election Districts in Berlin Due to Missteps
Following a litany of electoral blunders throughout the 2021 Bundestag election in Berlin, state electoral officer Stephan Bröchler has announced that around 20% of the 2256 constituencies will require repeat voting on February 11, 2024. The Karlsruhe Federal Constitutional Court uncovered the widespread issues that rendered the initial polling invalid, leading to considerable changes in the election process.
Judge Doris König presided over the German Federal Constitutional Court, which highlighted the Bundestag's inadequate clarification of the election process. The court pointed out that the parliamentary body had failed to evaluate transcripts from individual constituencies, leading to their invalidation. Ultimately, the Karlsruhe court concluded that the election must be repeated in 455 municipalities, including postal voting districts, affecting the majority of Berlin's twelve constituencies.
The chaotic scene that unfolded during the 2021 election day in Berlin has been widely reported. Many polling stations were plagued with lengthy queues, workers handing out incorrect or missing ballots, and stations closing temporarily or remaining open beyond their official closing time of 6 p.m.[1] Meanwhile, the Bundestag received a staggering 1,713 objections to the Berlin election from various sources, including the Federal Returning Officer’s submission.
The second parliamentary group within the Bundestag supported a partial re-run of the election with votes from the SPD, Green, and FDP, while the CDU/CSU parliamentary group argued that the decision was illegal, citing issues with the six constituencies oversight by the Federal Returning Officer. The CDU/CSU thus filed an electoral review complaint in Karlsruhe, with the court ultimately ruling that the majority of the claims were valid.
Electoral errors and culpability
The Federal Constitutional Court identified specific electoral errors, some of which included the distribution of ballot papers belonging to different electoral districts and the temporary closure of polling stations. The court also took a nuanced approach to cases of prolonged waiting times and late voting, which, in some cases, could be considered electoral errors, but not always.[1]
The Left party, which is represented in the Bundestag, welcomed the court's ruling with relief, as the decision ensured that the party would maintain its presence in the parliament and continue acting as a social opposition. The second direct mandate won by the Left in two constituencies would not be affected by the rerun, as the party had managed to secure their entry into the Bundestag with three direct mandates overall, despite falling below the overall 5% threshold.
Procedural reform for future elections
Members of the Bundestag, Till Steffen and Patrick Schnieder, called for procedural reform in Karlsruhe, citing the inefficiency of the two-stage process in which the Bundestag first scrutinizes an election and then the Constitutional Court. They argued that this lengthy process required improvement to ensure more efficient election management in the future.
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