Berlin just can’t do it: Another glitch in the Bundestag repeat election in Berlin

Voters sent home!

A breakdown occurred at a polling station in Berlin during the re-run of the Bundestag election. The polling station could only open after 8 a.m. because a key was missing. An obvious violation of the Federal Election Regulations. This Sunday, more than 500,000 people in Berlin will be asked to vote again for the Bundestag. This was necessary because numerous errors in the election on September 26, 2021 meant that the election was not conducted correctly. Together with “Tichys Einblick”, “Apollo News” investigated the election and uncovered these errors. The Federal Constitutional Court confirmed the results of the investigation and ordered the election to be repeated in 455 constituencies.

Nevertheless, the elections were also repeated with errors. Only after a delay of one hour was it possible to vote in polling station 605/606 in Berlin-Pankow. This was caused by the fact that the poll workers were only given the keys to the polling station, but not to the adjoining room where the election documents were stored. Prof. Dr. Stephan Bröchler, the Berlin state election officer, confirmed this incident and expressed his regret to rbb. According to eyewitnesses, a queue formed outside the polling station due to the delay. People waiting in line were asked to return later. The incident was documented.

The polling station was opened late, which clearly violates the Federal Election Code, which states that polling stations must be open between 8am and 6pm. In addition to the legal perspective on the incident, the incident also shows that Berlin is apparently unable to conduct federal elections without errors.