Election letters tested: Fast shipping for the Bundestag election!

Election letters tested: Fast shipping for the Bundestag election!

Around six weeks before the Bundestag election on February 23, 2025, Deutsche Post organized a test for sending election letters. This initiative is particularly important because the deadlines for postal voting are particularly short due to the early elections. The successful test included the automatic sorting and sending of pink election letter dummies, of which all 500 copies used in the Wiesbaden letter center passed the test run. Isolde Kerker-Godec, head of the Wiesbaden Post branch, made it clear that no mistakes may be made here.

In addition, department head Kathrin Alwardt said that the company's “large -scale letter” can quickly identify and sort several thousand programs. In large Hessian cities such as Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Offenbach and Kassel, a special pre -sorting of the election letters for various postal voting districts is also planned to ensure smooth running. According to fr.de the postal voting rate in the state elections 2023 and the European election in Hesse was around 37 percent.

Changes in the letter shipping

As of January 1, 2025, there will also be changes in general mailing. Deutsche Post remains active over six days a week and guarantees that standard letters will usually be delivered on the working day after next. The recipients usually reach registered mail the day after delivery. However, some letter services, such as "cash on delivery national" and "registered mail", are omitted. There are more than 39,000 branches and machines available in Germany that provide access to postal services around the clock. Deutschepost.de emphasizes that the average household receives 4-5 letters weekly.

In view of the decline in letter disposal from around 58 million a day in 2013, around 38 million in 2023, the intelligent control of the letter sorting becomes more current than ever. The standard letter postage remains unchanged at 95 cents, which is still around 40 percent cheaper than the European average.

deadlines and election process

The voters must apply for, fill out and return their postal voting documents faster, since the period was shortened due to the upcoming federal election. Voters can submit the application to postal voting verbally or informally in writing, for example by email. The application must contain the personal data such as family and first names, date of birth and living address.

The election notifications should be sent by Sunday, February 2 at the latest, while the postal voting documents should be sent by Monday, February 10 at the latest. The last throw -in date for the election letters is Thursday, February 20. These must be available to the municipal authority by 6 p.m. on the election day. Voters also have the option of submitting their election letters directly to the election office and can also choose in the polling station on the election day if they have their voting register and a photo ID. According to Bundesag.de , every election letter contains an option and a ballot. The postal vote was introduced in 1957 and simplified in 2008, with the proportion of postal votes in recent years significantly increased.