Local election 2020 in NRW: Important dates and information on the process despite Corona

The municipal election 2020 in NRW will be the last big election of the year in Germany. We have summarized the most important facts for you.

• The local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia will take place on September 13, 2020.
• Mayors, district administrators and various municipal parliaments are elected.
• Despite the spread of the corona virus, the pre-determined date applies to election day.

Düsseldorf - The 2020 municipal election in NRW will be the last major election of the year in Germany. The most populous state with 30 major cities goes to the ballot box. Who can vote, how does the choice work and does the corona virus cause problems? We provide answers to these and other questions.

Dates of the local elections 2020 in NRW - first ballot and runoff

September 13, 2020 was set as the date for the local election in NRW . Subsequently, there may be a runoff election in the elections of mayors and district administrators . If none of the applicants receives more than 50 percent of the votes in the first ballot, the decision between the two candidates with the most votes is made in a runoff election. For this purpose, the second Sunday after the first election day is planned for the municipal election in NRW - in this case, September 27, 2020. However, the local electoral law stipulates that the supervisory authority "can set a different date for the run-off election if special circumstances arise." require. ”A planned abolition of the run-off election in NRW had been overturned by the state constitutional court in 2019.

What is elected in the municipal election in NRW?

With their vote, the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia will elect different offices for the next five years in the 2020 local elections . Mayors , city ​​councils and  district representatives are  elected in independent cities . In the counties, the voters decide on the mayor of their municipality as well as the district administrator and the composition of the district council . In the course of the local elections, the Ruhr parliament is also directly elected for the first time . The committee represents the interests of the Ruhr area, whose four districts and eleven independent cities are represented with their own representatives.

Henriette Reker is Mayor of Cologne, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the 2020 local elections, she will run again.

© AFP / MICHAEL GOTTSCHALK

Who is eligible to vote in the 2020 municipal election in NRW?

Anyone wishing to vote in a local election in North Rhine-Westphalia must be at least 16 years  old. The right to vote to be elected to an office requires a minimum age of 18 years . The requirements for the right to vote also include German citizenship or the citizenship of another EU country. If you want to take part in the 2020 local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, you must also live in the electoral area at least since the 16th day before the election, or you must usually be there. If you meet these requirements, you should automatically receive an election notification with the most important information about the election.

Local election 2020 in NRW: postal vote and election notification

The Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia states that voters must be notified by August 23, 2020 at the latest. The election notification gives the voters not only tells you that as a voter is registered. The documents show which polling station voters can go to on September 13 to vote.

If you want to do without the way to the polling station or are unable to attend polling Sunday, you can always use postal voting . Voters can find all the information they need on their election notification for the 2020 local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. Important: The necessary documents for postal voting are not part of the election notification. The postal vote must first be requested from the responsible authority. The deadline for the application for postal voting documents ends on Friday, September 11, 2020, at 6 p.m. In exceptional cases, an application can be made until 3 p.m. on the election Sunday. Most recently, the federal state of Bavaria had carried out its run-off vote completely by postal vote.

Local election 2020 in NRW will take place despite the corona virus

The spread of the novel coronavirus and the resulting disease of Covid-19 raised the question of whether the municipal election in NRW could take place as planned. The country's interior ministry already announced in March: "The date of the local election is currently being adhered to."

At the same time, the ministry assured that rally meetings of the parties  are possible despite the corona virus, although this is accompanied by the personal presence of numerous party members. At this point, postponing the meetings until at least after the Easter holidays was described as "urgently required". It is not possible to completely dispense with events at which the candidates for party lists are properly nominated. "Alternatives are neither recognizable nor should they be legally permissible," as the Interior Ministry stated. The coronavirus is unlikely to have a negative impact on local elections.

Even politicians like Thomas Geisel, Mayor of Düsseldorf, experience a new challenge in the election campaign through the corona virus.

© dpa / Federico Gambarini

Which parties stand for election?

In 2020, many small parties and voter associations will stand for election in individual locations. In order to be able to participate in the election, they must meet minimum requirements . Anyone who is allowed to compete for everything has to show themselves first. Basically, the following applies: All lists that were most recently represented on the relevant committee may participate in the election for local representation. For example, a party that has been represented in a city council since the last local elections can also vote in that city council again in 2020. However, participation is also permitted, for example, if the party is represented in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia or if members of the party from NRW sit in the Bundestag.

Those who do not meet such requirements must first collect support signatures. How many signatures from the population are required depends on the choice for which a list would like to appear. The number of people entitled to vote plays a decisive role in this. The collection of the support signatures can only begin after the constellation meetings. Since the corona crisis is causing delays in the process, it can actually become more difficult for smaller groups of voters to collect the necessary signatures for the local elections in NRW in good time. The signature lists and all other documents must be submitted no later than July 16.

When will the result of the local election be known?

The counting of the election can begin immediately after the polling stations close . Until 6 p.m. on September 13, voters can go to the polling station to vote. Also the postal vote will only be counted after the polling stations have closed. In most local elections, many results of mayoral and district elections are known on election evening . Since the electoral system allows only one vote per ballot paper in local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, the counting can also go faster at local parliaments than in some other federal states.

In the previous local elections in Bavaria, the counts were partially slowed down by corona protective measures. These or other delays in the counting of individual elections can always lead to a late result in individual cases. In the runoff election, voters can usually expect the results of the mayor and district election to be known on the same day.

Overall, the CDU had the strongest result in the previous 2014 municipal election in NRW.

Fill out ballot papers - that's how it works

Although the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia receive several ballot papers in the 2020 municipal election , the election itself is not complicated. Eligible voters may vote for exactly one vote on each ballot . In the case of personal elections to mayors and district administrators, the votes go to one of the candidates. In all elections to the city council, district council and municipal council, only one cross is allowed, with which a candidate for the constituency and at the same time the reserve list of his party or electoral association is elected. In the district day election, an entire list is directly selected with one vote .

Forecasts for local elections in NRW: Polls can provide clues

General forecasts for the entire federal state are difficult to make in local elections. Election decisions often reflect the approval of individual candidates in the community, but are not necessarily linked to a preference in state and federal politics. As a rule, however, there are concrete indications for the later election result in large cities. Also in the 2020 local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, it can be expected that surveys will at least illuminate the chances of the candidates in some mayoral elections.