Arya News - Ruth Brand is responsible for preparing and conducting the Bundestag election. An interview with the federal returning officer.
Are you expecting attempts to manipulate the 2025 Bundestag elections , such as disinformation campaigns or cyberattacks?
We proactively provide transparent and correct information about the election process on various channels and especially on social media in an attempt to counter any information. Cyberattacks are likewise an important topic. We take extensive security precautions in the IT systems that are used to calculate the preliminary election results on election night. Before every Germany-wide election, the system undergoes tests involving the returning officers at state level. The final election result will be calculated in any case on the basis of the actual ballot papers. It cannot therefore be manipulated by cyberattacks.
How do you ensure that the elections proceed securely and lawfully?
The neutrality of the electoral bodies and the principle of public elections are fundamental prerequisites for trust in the election organisation and for acceptance of the election result. The electoral boards and electoral committees negotiate and discuss matters in public meetings, the minutes of which are recorded. Their activity is thus subject to public monitoring. The electoral boards are pluralistic in nature and comprise several members who monitor one another. The members are obliged to conduct their official duties in an impartial manner and are sworn to secrecy. Votes are cast on ballot papers that can be recounted at any time. It is also possible for an electoral scrutiny process to be conducted by the German Bundestag and Federal Constitutional Court.
Are there any changes to the rules and procedures?
By abolishing “overhang seats” and “balance seats”, the “second vote basis procedure” of the new electoral law will prevent the Bundestag from becoming any larger. The “second vote basis procedure” means that a party will only receive as many seats in a federal state as it is entitled to on the basis of the second votes it receives. This means that there may be some constituencies in which the candidate with the most first votes does not receive a seat in the Bundestag.
Which steps are being taken to ensure the security of postal voting?
Any manipulation of the election result will be ruled out by the precautions taken by the legislator. Persons voting by post must declare on oath on the polling card that they have filled out the ballot paper themselves. Making a declaration on oath is a criminal offence. Anyone who fills out a ballot paper for another person without being authorised to do so likewise renders themselves liable to prosecution. Where postal voting documents are sent to an address other than the person’s normal place of residence, the local municipality will simultaneously send out a notification to the residential address for verification purposes. Postal voting documents may only be handed out in person to someone other than the eligible voter if that person produces a written power of attorney.
Does this election, called as it was at short notice, entail any particular challenges?
Those voters who wish to vote in the Bundestag elections by post have considerably less time to make their mark on the ballot paper and send it back than they would have in a Bundestag election held towards the normal end of a legislative period. If one does not wish to wait for the postal voting documents to arrive by post, it is possible when applying for a polling card to indicate that one will pick the postal voting documents up from the election office oneself. Once there, one can make one’s election choice, mark the ballot paper accordingly and submit one’s postal vote. This saves two journeys by post at once.
What do you do to increase voter turnout?
As federal returning officer, I always appeal for the highest possible turnout. Everyone who votes is actively shaping our democracy . That’s why we maintain a presence, for example on Instagram and TikTok, so as to reach out to as many young people as possible, provide them with transparent information about the election and encourage them to go and vote. Measures are also in place to make it easier for people with disabilities to take part in the election. For example, the right-hand upper corner of ballot papers are punched or cut off so that blind and visually impaired people can correctly adjust their ballot paper template.
Federal Returning Officer
Dr Ruth Brand, born in Lemgo in 1967, has a PhD in economics. She has been president of the Federal Statistical Office and federal returning officer since 2023.
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