A messy premiere stands on Sunday, 06. November 2022, in the house: on this day, the Frankfurt citizens decide in a referendum on whether Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann remains in office or whether he must take his hat. To get as many people as possible to cast their vote, the magistrate has had information posters put up in over 700 places throughout the city.
The poster campaign is to clarify that there are two ways to participate in the referendum: So can be voted on Sunday, November 6, from 8 to 18 o'clock in the voting room, so to speak the classic polling station, or at any time in advance already by letter. Postal voting can be requested online at frankfurt.de/briefabstimmungsunterlagen or by using the QR code on the back of the voting notification. It is also possible to complete the application on the reverse of the voting notification and send it by post. However, it is also possible to apply by fax and e-mail. Surname, first name, address as well as date of birth and, if necessary, a different mailing address are required for this. Postal voting is also possible in the postal voting room at the Bürgeramt Sachsenhausen, Große Rittergasse 103, where postal voting documents can be requested and taken away during opening hours. In addition, there is the possibility to vote in the established voting booths already on the spot and the election letter directly into the provided urn to throw.
The referendum on the deselection of the Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann became necessary because the City Council of the City of Frankfurt am Main in its 14th session in accordance with § 55 paragraph 1 i. V. m. § 55 paragraph 2 No. 1 of the Hessian Municipal Election Act (KWG) determined that a referendum on the removal of the Lord Mayor should take place in accordance with § 76 paragraph 4 of the Hessian Municipal Code (HGO). The reason: Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann no longer enjoys the confidence required to continue in office.
According to the electoral roll, 512,541 people have the right to cast their vote in the referendum. At least 30 percent of these eligible voters would have to vote to remove the mayor from office. This means that, as things stand at present, at least 153,763 people will have to cast their vote and vote to remove the mayor from office. It must be taken into account that the number of eligible voters is still provisional, as the electoral roll is still being updated until the Friday before the voting day due to, for example, people moving away and/or deaths. Whether such a turnout can be achieved at all, will be one of the most exciting questions that will be answered on November 06.
How many Frankfurt residents actually cast their vote for the early termination of the mayor's term of office, is on the voting day from 6 pm on the Internet at wahlen.frankfurt.de to follow.
On voting Sunday, around 4600 election helpers will then be active throughout Frankfurt am Main in 376 general election committees in the voting rooms as well as in 199 absentee ballot committees in the exhibition center, in order to ensure that the voting runs smoothly and legally compliant. For the expense allowances, which are paid to the election assistants, the magistrate calculates with a sum of altogether approximately 230,000 euro.
General information can also be found at frankfurt.de/wahlen under the heading "Citizens' referendum". Alternatively, the office of elections and voting is available for questions about the referendum at the phone number 069/212-40400.
