Election workers urgently wanted: Fastnacht presents municipalities with challenges!

Election workers urgently wanted: Fastnacht presents municipalities with challenges!

On February 23, 2025, the premature Bundestag election is scheduled in Germany, which, however, collided with the traditional carnival period in Rhineland-Palatinate. This temporal overlap is a special challenge for the election organization. While many municipalities are well prepared, some still have difficulty finding sufficient election workers. For example, Tagesschau.de to counteract this problem.

Ralf Hechler, Mayor of Ramstein-Miesenbach and member of the CDU, announces that his community has sufficient election workers. A election helper campaign that started in the summer of 2024 led to a high level of commitment. A SWR survey shows that the majority of the municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate could recruit enough helpers. For example, the city of Speyer received 150 applications on an online call.

recruitment of the election workers

in Andernach are required for the polling stations and the postal vote, but fortunately 300 volunteers reported. Neuwied has already fully organized his group of helpers. On the other hand, some municipalities, such as Ludwigshafen and Koblenz, have not yet been able to secure sufficient support.

For the entire federal election, up to 650,000 election workers are required nationwide, of which around 45,000 will be required in Rhineland-Palatinate. Interested German citizens aged 18 and over can report as election workers. Their tasks are diverse: from checking the voting right to count the votes, all of this during the opening hours of the polling stations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The tasks of the election workers

according to SWR.de must always be present in the polling station. You are appointed by the municipal authorities and can contact your community either online or directly. The main responsibility lies with an election board, which in addition to the election leader also includes deputies and assessors. You are responsible for the proper execution of the choice.

The election workers volunteer their work, but receive a refreshing allowance of usually 25 euros, whereby the election leader can receive 35 euros. Some municipalities even offer higher amounts. The reimbursement of costs for trips and possible overnight fees can also be requested, especially if the helpers have to be used in another location.

challenges through Fastnacht

Despite the positive feedback regarding the engagement, there are also structural challenges. Fast night events lead to bottlenecks in the polling stations in many municipalities. Alternative locations, such as fire station, daycare centers and sports halls, are considered to compensate for these bottlenecks. Municipalities such as VG Bruchmühlbach-Miesau started looking for volunteers in November. In addition, there is a holiday lock for municipal employees in Idar-Oberstein during the election.

The city of Koblenz has recently expressed the need to find 80 election workers, and increasingly relies on the support of its municipal employees. In the meantime, voters in Mainz must be prepared for possible changes in their polling stations. The municipality is actively communicating these changes to the citizens.

The election organization in Rhineland-Palatinate shows both successful approaches and challenges that have to be mastered in order to guarantee a smooth expiry of the election. The active integration of citizens by recruiting election helpers is considered the key to success.