Municipal elections - Rastatt residents who voted by mail due to a fault must re-vote
After a malfunction during the municipal elections in Rastatt, voting had to be repeated in several districts. In total, approximately 1,000 people did not cast their votes at the election on June 9th, as they had requested mail-in ballots but did not receive ballot papers. According to the city, an external service provider failed to send the election materials. Therefore, re-voting was required in the five districts of Plittersdorf, Niederbuhl, Ottersdorf, Wintersdorf, and Rauental, as decided by the Regional Council. The local council elections in these areas, as well as parts of the municipal and district council elections, were declared invalid.
It was known only a few days before the municipal elections that there were issues with the distribution of ballots in Rastatt. The city stated that digital applications for mail-in voting had not been properly processed. Consequently, the requested ballot papers had not been sent. However, those affected were excluded from voting at the polling stations due to a note in the voter registry. The city had taken notice of this. Around 1,000 affected individuals requested new ballot papers, while another 1,000 did not.
"A significant breach of election preparation regulations had occurred in the affected areas," the Regional Council determined. "This breach could have had consequences for the election results, given the large number of affected eligible voters." The malfunction only affected the municipal, not the simultaneous European elections.
- Due to the malfunction during the Municipal election in Rastatt, a Single choice for representatives had to be repeated in several Communes, specifically Plittersdorf, Niederbuhl, Ottersdorf, Wintersdorf, and Rauental.
- Despite the voting malfunction in Rastatt during the Baden-Württemberg elections on June 9th, many people opted for a mail-in ballot but unfortunately did not receive their Election materials, leading to their absenteeism.
- The re-voting in the affected Communes of Rastatt was necessary to ensure fairness and accuracy in the Municipal election process, given the significant number of affected voters who had requested mail-in ballots but did not receive their Election materials.
