Breakdowns in Berlin polling stations: extent still unclear

After the glitchy election night in Berlin, State Returning Officer Petra Michaelis admitted various problems, but initially refused any personal consequences. She currently sees no reason to give up her position, said Michaelis on Monday.

However, she admitted that there were supposedly too few ballot papers in some polling stations, in other polling stations there were far too long queues of waiting voters as well as false ballots in some places. Michaelis could not say in how many of the 2,257 Berlin polling stations there were problems, how long voters had to wait and when the last eligible voter cast his vote. That must now be clarified with an inventory.

Michaelis also referred to the organizational responsibility of the responsible district election officers who ordered and distributed the ballot papers. “Of course we had enough ballot papers prepared, we were provided with around 110 to 120 percent of the electoral ballot papers,” said Michaelis. “It was incomprehensible to me that some polling stations probably ran out of ballot papers.” The electoral boards in the respective polling stations are responsible for ensuring that the ballot papers are transported to the right place and that sufficient numbers are always available on election day.

The head of the regional election control office, Gert Baasen, said that the total number of polling stations with problems was in his estimation in the upper two-digit or lower three-digit range. Many complaints are about the same polling stations. He named Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Pankow and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg as districts.

In addition, Petra Michaelis spoke of a great challenge for the organizers due to the five ballot papers, ballot box voting under corona conditions and the Berlin Marathon. But she was confident that the election had been well prepared. The main problem was that ballot papers were not delivered to polling stations in good time. It is incomprehensible to her that this did not work out in some districts, said Petra Michaelis. Sufficient ballot papers had been procured for those eligible to vote.

Professor Timm Beichelt, political scientist at the Viadrina, pointed out that the election in Berlin would have to be repeated in individual polling stations and districts. When asked by the rbb, Beichelt described the election in Berlin as “irregular” in part.

As very Beichelt critically evaluates the obvious “Unavailability of ballot papers”. A neutral vote is also not possible if, despite forecasts and projections, polling stations were open by 8.15 p.m. “People interested in politics could choose differently if they already know the forecasts,” said Beichelt. If there were tight results in these bars, then it would be a redial probably.

Beichelt has been an OSCE election observer in Eastern Europe on several occasions over the past few decades, including Russia, Estonia, Moldova and Ukraine.

With regard to contestability, experts come to different conclusions: Previously, the Berlin constitutional lawyer Christian Pestalozza had said, with a view to the problems: “It could be that someone takes this fact as a reason for an election review complaint.” It is questionable, however, whether the matter would be successful.

Broadcast: Inforadio, September 27th, 2021, 12 noon

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