State elections in Lower Saxony: Helpers urgently needed

Created: 06/09/2022Updated: 06/09/2022, 16:53

By: Andree Waechter

The job description is simple: handing out ballot papers, watching the election process, counting ballot papers.

Pupils should now be used as poll workers.

Hanover – incumbent Stephan Weil or challenger Bernd Althusmann?

In order to know who will rule in Lower Saxony from autumn, the state elections will take place on October 9th.

The municipalities are still looking for thousands of election workers.

They are responsible for the smooth running and the correct counting of the ballot papers.

State election Lower Saxony 2022

Many districts, cities and municipalities are finding it more difficult than it used to be to recruit volunteers for voluntary work.

And that, although at least the corona pandemic hardly affects the search this time compared to the federal election a year ago, according to a survey by the German Press Agency.

In the Hanover region, there were still almost 300 helpers missing at the beginning of June for the counting of postal votes, in Wilhelmshaven 380 volunteers were still being sought, in the district of Harburg around 350, in Wolfsburg 260, in the district of Göttingen around 230 and in Salzgitter even 950. Other municipalities have them Search hasn't even started yet.

The districts of Ammerland and Osterholz, on the other hand, can already put a tick behind their personnel planning: their teams for election day are complete.

Few election workers for state elections: One problem is the low expense allowance

But these are exceptions.

It is often heard from the municipalities that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit poll workers.

"It's harder to recruit election workers this year than before," says the city of Wolfsburg, for example.

According to the Vechta district, the search is “definitely more difficult than it used to be”, and the Heidekreis also reports that it is “increasingly difficult to find volunteers”.

Two justifications can be heard again and again: the allegedly high proportion of postal voters, which makes counting more difficult - and the low expense allowance.

A minimum limit is set in the state electoral regulations for the so-called refreshment money, 35 euros for the electoral officer and 25 euros for the other members of an electoral officer.

However, municipalities can voluntarily pay higher sums.

In Wilhelmshaven and Emden, for example, there are up to 100 euros for the election workers, whose work mainly consists of checking the right to vote, handing out the ballot papers and counting the votes after 6 p.m.

In the state elections in Lower Saxony, the proportion of postal voters will probably be higher than usual.

This makes counting more difficult for poll workers.

© Panama Pictures/Imago

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In Oldenburg, too, where "there are still a few gaps to be filled", the compensation was raised to up to 100 euros to make the service as an election worker more attractive.

This year, the city is increasingly looking for volunteers outside of its own administration.

The district returning officer has not only asked for help from authorities, but also from companies.

Lower Saxony state election 2022: "social election workers' evening"

In general, many municipalities are getting creative in order to gather enough staff.

Several districts are increasingly using social media campaigns to reach out to younger people, some towns and communities are promising a “social election worker evening” or good catering, and still others are trying to recruit schoolchildren who are eligible to vote.

The district of Oldenburg, for example, had good experiences with this last year.

The students were "very interested and reliable," says Head of Office Ralf Wiechmann.

However, there was also a special effect at the time, because when the corona vaccine was still scarce, election workers could be vaccinated early.

Nevertheless, the district wants to attract students again this year.

The Hanover region is also considering addressing the vocational schools.

State election helper: Corona is hardly a reason anymore

The concern about corona infections is now hardly mentioned as a reason for a cancellation, as the survey showed.

“In the past two years, there have been many rejections from high-risk patients.

In this year's election, Corona is no longer a reason for rejection," said the municipality of Wangerland in Friesland.

Incidentally, despite all the difficulties, no municipality has expressed great concern that there could still be too few volunteers available in Lower Saxony in October.

A look at Braunschweig shows how quickly the search can gain new impetus: There, the city announced at the end of May that it was still missing around 500 helpers.

Just ten days later, the response was so great that there are now enough staff to be able to absorb any failures.