For a long time they were excluded from the right to vote at the federal level.
But on Sunday, for the first time, people with disabilities and legal support will be allowed to the ballot box.
Experts say: Not only those affected benefit from this regulation.
Munich / Hilpoltstein
- Günter Usbeck has long been a pensioner. But at the age of 73, on Sunday for the first time, he will have a say in who will rule the country in which he lives. Usbeck is one of the many first-time voters who, after a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, are allowed to put their crosses in a federal election for the first time. He says: "I am pleased that we can now vote for the Bundestag."
Until 2019, people with disabilities were excluded from their democratic rights in so-called full legal care.
Then the Federal Constitutional Court overturned the federal electoral law of the time.
As a result, the Bundestag had to reform to create inclusive voting rights.
This was already implemented in the election of the European Parliament in 2019 and the local elections last year.
And now for the first time in the election of the German Bundestag.
A good 80,000 people are affected nationwide, around 20,000 of them from Bavaria.
Before the federal election: First experiences with local elections
One of them is Günter Usbeck. He has lived in the Auhof, an institution of the Diakonie, for decades. In the Franconian town of Hilpoltstein, it forms a kind of city within the city - with a school, workshop, garden center and apartments for a total of around 400 people with a mental or emotional disability.
He gained his first experience with the electoral procedure in the most recent local elections.
And in the Auhof, too, there has been a democratic say for a long time.
When he was still working in the workshop, he took part in the election of the workshop council.
And as a resident, he casts his vote for the resident council every four years - for those who take care of “what should change,” as he says.
People who cannot read or write are also thought of, he reports.
They then put ballot papers in the ballot box with the candidates' faces on them.
By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all developments and results from the Free State about the upcoming federal election - and of course about all other important stories from Bavaria.
Bundestag election: people with disabilities can get help
Thanks to a new passage in the federal electoral law, people with disabilities can also get support in the voting booth for the upcoming federal election.
“There is the option of electoral assistance,” says Jan Gerspach, head of the “Living with Disabilities” department in the social association VdK Bayern.
The assistant can, for example, accompany the voter into the booth and help him fill out the ballot paper.
The helper is not allowed to take the voter's decision to vote.
Inclusion in federal elections: There are still some hurdles
For Gerspach, the implementation of the court ruling is a giant step forward. But there are still some hurdles. Because not every polling station is barrier-free - for people with disabilities there is only postal voting. And he also sees room for improvement when it comes to forming political opinions. “Although the election programs are now usually in simple language.” But many election campaign events are not exactly designed for people with disabilities. “The parties can work even more inclusive.” From his point of view, this would not only benefit people with disabilities, who are a not insignificant group of voters. "Easy language also helps us to understand political debates better."
The 38-year-old Tanja Meindl, also a resident of the Auhof with full legal care, does not yet know whether she will exercise her right to vote.
“I'm undecided,” she says.
“Voting is good, but it's also a bit exciting.” She has not yet cast her vote in the local elections last year.
In the end, she “lost track” of the big ballot paper.
By Thomas Tijang and Dominik Göttler
