Since two days you can apply for the brieahl in your respective municipality of residence and in the (also electronic) mailbox of the city of eltmann it rattles: "yesterday alone 30 citizens applied for brieahl documents", reports christiane ruttinger from the residents' registration office on monday. The city of eltmann, like the city of habfurt for example, has a link on its website to the online form service provider, so that every citizen can order his or her ballot papers at the click of a mouse.
"Not complicated"
"That's not complicated", ruttinger says you only need the number of your electoral district and your voter number – both are noted on the election notification that has been sent to every eligible voter these days. Whoever applies for a school holiday will receive the election documents from the administration. "That really costs a lot of money", reports christiane ruttinger and is happy to agree with her colleague in the city of habfurt. Thomas ringeisen, for one, preferred to do the whole election process by mail "that would be the easiest for us". In habfurt, the city has sent the election notification to around 10,000 citizens; in eltmann, it has now been sent to around 4,400 eligible voters. Could you send out the documents right away with the election notification, that's it. Money saved. "I stand by that", comments ringeisen dryly. Election workers were still needed for the payment, but not in the polling stations during the daytime.
In the run-up to the election, the representatives of the municipalities are occupied with ancillary work that costs time and nerves: as the election officer in the town of eltmann, petra felser, describes, the administration is obliged to ensure that the secrecy of the ballot is maintained. According to paragraph 12 abs. 2 sentence 3 of the federal election regulations, the number of eligible voters in an electoral district must not be so low that it becomes apparent how individuals voted. This means that polling stations where fewer than 50 voters were expected to vote should be closed down. "We cannot change it." this year, this is the case for the eltmann districts of eschenbach (the eschenbachers have to go to dippach) and lembach (go to weisbrunn); in the city itself, the polling station in the city kindergarten will be closed, and in the school, only one room, the auditorium, will be reserved for the election. These plans "will be discussed with the mayors", felser emphasizes, these are not arbitrary acts.
The use of the brieahl "will be the future", felser is quite sure after 37 years in local government. Now it is still a minority that votes this way, but that was allowed to change.
Not yet "with the mouse to the city hall", as the online form service on the internet heibt, you can go to the city zeil. Christine karl is the contact person here at the burgerburo. Anyone who wants to pick up voting documents for grandma or mother-in-law, for example, must bring the completed documents from the election notification letter. The senior must give his ambassador a power of attorney by signature, so that he then receives the election documents. But, explains christine karl: "you can only be authorized a maximum of four times." the only exception is the old people's nursing home and residential home, where the documents are collected and brought to the city administration and back again. And here there is also officially the possibility that a helper helps with the filling of the election documents. This must sign then however also.