Bundestag Vote-Count Mishaps Lead to Partial Election Repeat in Berlin's 455 Districts
Troubled elections in Berlin sparked a constitutional court ruling, necessitating a partial re-election in 2021 for 455 constituencies and related postal voting areas. In a recent decision, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe declared these regions require a fresh vote due to several snafus.
The presiding judge, Doris König, announced this decision on Tuesday, stating the re-election will hold a two-vote format. This means citizens will cast a first and second vote in these affected districts. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag submitted an electoral review appeal, now partially successful.
This ruling deviated from the original decision made by the Bundestag. The Bundestag group consisting of the SPD, Green, and FDP parliamentary factions decided the recurring election should affect 327 of the city's 2,256 constituencies and 104 out of 1,507 postal voting areas. However, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group argued the decision was unlawful and their claims were partly validated by the Karlsruhe court.
The Federal Constitutional Court also acknowledged declaring the election invalid in an extra 31 districts, as per the Bundestag decision categorization. However, the verdict was mostly in the procedural court's favor.
The flawed voting day on September 26, 2021, was a chaotic affair in many Berlin polling stations. Voters faced prolonged wait times, standing in queues, witnessed incorrect or missing ballot papers, and even observed polling stations closing late or extending past 6 p.m. When the voting should have ended, predictions for election outcomes typically emerge.
The Bundestag received over 1,713 objections against the 2021 Berlin election, including one submission from the Federal Returning Officer. This number of complaints surpassed earlier elections by around eight times, as mentioned by Judge Peter Müller during the July hearing.
Explaining the delay between the election and the review procedure, Judge Müller pointed to the two-stage process. First, the Bundestag reviews the objections, and later, the Constitutional Court comes into the picture. According to Müller, even if the maximum acceleration had been implemented earlier, the timing would not have been feasible due to the large number of appeals.
Berlin's Constitutional Court eventually deemed the House of Representatives election invalid in 2021 due to "serious systemic deficiencies" and numerous electoral errors. Following the rerun on February 12, 2023, a black-red coalition came to power, replacing the three-party alliance which governed Berlin since 2016.
In summary, the constitutional court ruling in Karlsruhe calls for the partial re-election in 455 Berlin districts due to the troubles encountered during the 2021 election day. The re-vote will involve a two-vote system.
