Getting ready for the redo of the Berlin's Federal election on February 11 is now in full swing, thanks to the judgement from the Federal Constitutional Court. From January 2, notifications will be sent out to eligible voters, filled with info about their polling stations and postal voting options. Stephan Bröchler, Berlin's election head, predicts around 550,000 Berliners, roughly a fifth of the 2021 election's total eligible voters, will be able to cast their votes in this partial repeat election.
Bröchler and his district team have already been gearing up for this event fewer days after the federal court's ruling clarified necessary details such as the required ballot papers, polling stations, and election helpers. The ruling called for the repeat of the Bundestag election in 455 of Berlin's 2,256 constituencies and associated postal voting districts.
The details on ballot papers include the name change of the NPD party, which is now referred to as Die Heimat. Moreover, at least one candidate from 2021 has sadly passed away and will not appear on the ballot paper for this repeat election.
Bröchler also mentioned that regardless of the increased number of constituencies, they anticipate no issues in recruiting sufficient number of voluntary poll workers. They will discuss this with district representatives on the next day. The partial repeat election may require around 3,000 to 3,300 electoral helpers, a significant decrease compared to the 42,000 people required during the complete re-run of the Berlin House of Representatives and district assemblies of representatives elections in February 2022.
References:
[Enrichment-Data Concept:]
To provide a more comprehensive understanding, enrichment data will be integrated into the base article while maintaining an informal tone and not exceeding 15% of the total content.
- Eligible voters in Berlin total approximately 2.43 million
- Voters can cast their first vote for a direct candidate and the second vote for a party list
- Postal voting period has been reduced to two weeks, and voters are advised to go to postal voting centers in districts instead of requesting ballot papers by post.
- Poll workers receive €120 as "refreshment money"
- Eligibility to become a poll worker includes being 18 years old and having German citizenship.
- Provisional results for Berlin should be available around 1:30 AM, with forecasts and party performance projections provided from 6 PM.
