Fact check: Germany's postal voting system isn't rigged
As Germany heads into three elections in September, rumors are circulating on social media claiming that postal voting is not secure — claims that have also been made about other elections. Here's why they're wrong.
Germany's postal voting system is not rigged, according to a recent fact check conducted by DW. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been making baseless claims that the system is unreliable and has been manipulated in individual cases. However, the fact check found that these isolated incidents do not demonstrate that the entire postal voting system is inherently flawed.
In fact, the study found that postal voting in Germany is secure overall, with no evidence to suggest that it could change an election result. The system has detailed procedures for handling and counting postal ballots, and the counting takes place publicly, allowing for public observation by members of the public and each party's representatives.
Additionally, the fact check debunked the claims that postal votes are easily manipulated during counting and that elderly people are being pressured or influenced by certain political parties or caregivers. Overall, the fact check concludes that the postal voting system in Germany is secure and that the concerns raised by the AfD are misleading and baseless.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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