Two -class choice: Court rejects urgent application for Germans abroad!

Two -class choice: Court rejects urgent application for Germans abroad!

A German living abroad has suffered a legal setback: The Berlin Administrative Court rejected its application in order to be able to take part in the early Bundestag election on February 23, 2025. The plaintiff, who lives in South Africa, wanted to make sure that his postal voting documents will arrive in good time because he has great concerns due to the short period of only two weeks to apply for his votes. The court decided that the matter could be dealt with in the responsibility of the Bundestag and only after the election in the election examination procedure, as [rbb24] (https://www.rbb24.de/politik/bundestag/2025/berlin-klage-auslandsdeutscher- Bundesagenwahl.html).

Risks of postal voting

The challenges for voters abroad are significant because the documents in Berlin will only be sent from February 10, 2025. This means that the postal voting documents may not return to the voter in time, which harbors the risk of an invalid voice. For this election period, the deadline for applying and returning the documents was shortened from the usual six weeks to just two weeks. To ensure that the postal voting documents arrive in good time, the German foreign representatives advise you to use express services or for early application, as shown in the Service offer of the City of Berlin.

From February 10, 2025, voters in Berlin can request their postal voting documents. Personal application is also possible to avoid the long postal period. The statutory period for the return of the election documents ends on election day, February 23, at 6:00 p.m. As a precaution, voters must plan at least three working days for returning the documents to ensure timely arrival. In the event of a rejected ballot, there is the possibility to object to the responsible district election office.