Could the federal election in Berlin in 2021 be manipulated?
Apparently it was possible for young people in Berlin to cast their votes with a trick.
There were also some election glitches in the federal election in 2021 *.
Berlin struggled with a particularly large number of problems.
Now there are new allegations that a press conference by the Berlin Senate is supposed to shed light on the darkness.
Berlin - The reports about errors and manipulation possibilities in the elections in the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany continue. In Berlin, one election mishap followed the next. In some polling stations in Berlin the ballot papers ran out or were swapped. Some voters were only able to cast their votes after 6 p.m., the queues were that long. Counts were delayed. But now a new scandal is shaking the elections in Berlin. It could also have an impact on the general election.
As reported by several media outlets, young people were apparently able to cast their votes for the Bundestag and House of Representatives elections as well as the referendum.
However, the voting age is 18 years, only for the district assembly, votes from young people aged 16 and over were also permitted.
The newspapers Die Welt and Tagesspiegel have now uncovered three such cases.
New election debacle in Berlin: Apparently minors could also vote in the federal election
As the Wahlrecht.de portal noted on Twitter with alarm, there were “serious possibilities for manipulation”.
The pivotal point was that young people aged 16 and over and EU foreigners should also have been able to cast their votes in the Bundestag election and the election to the House of Representatives.
Because: Those entitled to vote could request the postal voting documents and then pass the ballot papers on to unauthorized persons.
Then they would have been able to get new ballot papers at the polling station on election day.
These postal voting documents passed on could then in turn be submitted anonymously by young people and EU foreigners with their own postal voting documents for the district assembly.
Federal election 2021: allegations of manipulation in the Berlin election - Senate press conference
But why can this manipulation possibility not be proven? As the RBB reports, the reason lies in the ability to submit postal voting documents. Because in Berlin there was only one envelope for all voting papers. This procedure was not used in any of the other federal states. As Wahlrecht.de further explains, the resigned state returning officer Petra Michealis changed the rules shortly before the vote. But it is not clear whether this ruled out the manipulation.
And another aspect is criticized.
Accordingly, Berlin deviated from the requirements of the federal electoral code.
Contrary to the regulations, empty ballot envelopes should not be counted as invalid votes.
How big are the dimensions and what effects will this have on the federal election in 2021?
On Tuesday (October 5th, 2021) the Berlin Senate plans to hold a press conference at 1 p.m.
(Sophia Lother)
* fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
