NRW state elections on May 15th: ventilation, masks, distance - that applies to the polling station
Created: 05/10/2022 17:23
By: Magdalena von Zumbusch
NRW's municipalities have made preparations so that voting can take place on Sunday with almost no risk of corona infection.
You can still minimize the residual risk with a little caution.
Düsseldorf – Next Sunday (May 15) the new state parliament will be elected in North Rhine-Westphalia and the state government will then be re-formed.
As is so often the case, the CDU and the SPD in particular will be in a close race according to the current poll values.
The current Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst is the top candidate for the CDU, and Thomas Kutschaty has been nominated for the SPD.
They compete with the FDP's top candidates, Joachim Stamp, and Mona Neubaur for the Greens.
State election 2022 in NRW: comprehensive measures protect you against corona infections
Anyone who is eligible to vote in NRW and intends to cast their vote at the polling station is well protected from infection at the polling station by the measures taken by the municipalities of NRW.
A mask requirement no longer applies in the polling stations on Sunday.
However, the municipalities have taken precautions against the risk of infection for voters with partitions, ventilation, marked walking routes, minimum distances and disinfection measures.
In addition, the state returning officer of North Rhine-Westphalia, Wolfgang Schellen, has made some recommendations, as the news
platform rp-online.de
reports: "By putting on a mask, we can protect our own health and at the same time protect the honorary election board members from infection." And: "Who the If you don't want to observe the election over a longer period of time, you should only stay in the polling station as long as necessary.” Finally, an additional safety factor is to mark the election crosses with your own pen.
Above all, however, the state returning officer appealed to all citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia not to let infection protection measures prevent them from going to the polling station, but to cast their vote.
Because in this election there is definitely a possibility that the current CDU-led government will be voted out: everything is still open.
NRW state elections 2022: What you need to know about the state elections
The polling stations will open their doors as usual on May 15 between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
As a precaution, those entitled to vote should have their voting card and ID card or passport with them.
Because an identification document enables you to vote even if you should have lost your voting card.
In this case, you can present your passport or identity card at the polling station and you will then be found on the voters' register.
At 6 p.m. sharp, the ballot boxes in the polling stations will be closed.
The votes are then counted and sorted under the supervision of the electoral officer.
The results are sent to the state returning officer.
The provincial returning officer determines both the result of the second votes and the elected deputies who have been elected from the provincial list.
An overview of the current poll results for the parties running before the election could also help undecided voters.
Traffic light ahead of big tasks - you can find out what the SPD, Greens and FDP are planning in our political newsletter.
