Berlin’s state returning officer Stephan Bröchler wants to ensure that the polling stations are supplied with sufficient ballot papers in the repeat election on February 12. “We have stretched a double safety net,” he told the German Press Agency.
First of all, according to him, it will be ensured that all 2,256 polling stations have so many ballot papers in stock before they open that they are theoretically enough for 100 percent of the voters. Practically not all eligible voters come there. However, should problems arise for whatever reason, a “safety net” planned for the first time in this form should take effect.
Because both in the district election offices and in a specially planned situation center of the state returning authority, a reserve of replacement ballot papers is kept – for all voting districts at district or state level. “If, for whatever reason, there is a shortage in a polling station, we can react relatively quickly,” says Bröchler.
Because the polling stations could then be supplied via the district electoral offices or, if that is not possible, via the state returning authority. According to Bröchler, so many ballot papers were printed this time that they are theoretically enough for 140 percent of the voters. In the election on September 26, 2021, which was marked by numerous glitches and errors, it was 116 percent.
Nonetheless, missing, incorrect or even hastily copied ballot papers were among the most serious problems at the time. One of the consequences of this was that it was sometimes not possible to vote in polling stations for a long time or votes became invalid.
More poll workers than last time
According to Bröchler, the new procedure is not the only lesson learned from the 2021 breakdown election, which was declared invalid by the Berlin Constitutional Court and now has to be repeated in its entirety, just like the elections to the district assemblies. “We have more voting booths at the polling stations,” he said. In 2021 it was an average of 2.3 per bar, now 4.5 per bar.
When preparing the processes, four minutes more time was planned for filling out the ballot papers per voter. Both points are intended to help avoid long queues like last time. Also new: 9 to 14 more staff are planned for each polling station. A total of around 42,000 election workers were at the start on February 12; in 2021 there were around 34,000.
A significant problem in 2021 was that many people were still able to cast their votes after 6 p.m., sometimes even hours later. At the time, forecasts and projections about the outcome of the election were already being published in the media. This is not a voting error per se, because anyone who is at the polling station by 6 p.m. should be able to cast their vote before it closes.
Nevertheless, Bröchler also wants to break new ground in this regard. “At 6 p.m. someone from the election committee goes out and says: Whoever is there at this time can of course vote. And if you come after 6 p.m., you can no longer vote.” In contrast to previous practice, the minutes for election day must then also be precisely documented for each polling station, how many people were there at 6 p.m. and were therefore still allowed to vote.
The administrative scientist Bröchler has been the state returning officer since October 1, 2022. The repeat election is his first test. “I’m doing my best,” he said. “But there will also be mistakes.” His goal is a “low-friction election”. After all, experience with elections in Germany is also part of normality: “Smooth elections don’t exist”. (dpa)
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