Evaluation of yesterday's election day

Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche and the electoral administration of the city of Jena fully understand the displeasure of citizens who were unable to exercise their right to vote yesterday. In two polling stations, the queues in front of the polling stations from 6 p.m. onwards were no longer taken into account. However, there was no legal violation. The electoral boards strictly adhered to the local electoral regulations. These stipulate that votingends at 6 p.m. and only those who are still in the polling station are permitted to vote. An estimated 150 voters were affected by these decisions.

In other polling stations, the electoral boards used their discretionary powers. As a result, all citizens who had already lined up before 6 p.m. were still able to cast their votesthere . This right to different interpretations is available to electoral boards and is not objectionable on the part of the electoral officer.

The city cannot confirm reports that a polling station was closed before 6 pm. No such complaint has been received to date.Furthermore, an internal review has not revealed any evidenceofsuch an incident.

The city of Jena therefore assumes that the elections that took place are completely lawful. Nevertheless, it is possible that the circumstances mentioned will lead to an investigation by the competent authorities.

Causes of the long waiting times

The reasons for the sometimes long waiting times were the combination of four elections (EU, city council, district mayor and district council),the wealth of information for voters and the large number of election proposals. This led to long dwell times in the polling booths . Every voter is entitled to the time they need to cast their vote.

In addition, voter turnout increased by over ten percent. This corresponds to around 8500 people. Additional polling booths and ballot boxes were installed in response to the increased number of votes cast at local polling stations. Unfortunately, despite this preparation, there were longer waiting times. The city apologizes for this. An improvement in the election processes is being intensively examined.

Thanks to the many volunteer election helpers

The City of Jena would like to express its gratitude to the many volunteer poll workers. Without their many hours of hard work late into the night, it would not have been possible to hold the elections.