Official collection
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In the context of direct democracy, an official collection of signatures in Germany and Austria refers to the collection of petition signatures for a referendum under supervision in a town hall or at other officially determined locations (normally a government building). This is in contrast to the more common free collection, where people may sign a petition that is freely circulated by the public. In a few German federal states, official collection is also required by law for the collection of campaign signatures for local elections.
Austria
In Austria, the official collection is required for all direct democratic procedures at the federal level, as well as in seven of the nine federal states. Free collection at the state level is only permitted in Burgenland and the State of Salzburg.[1]
Germany
In Germany, signing a petition for a referendum or citizens' initiative is always possible at officially designated places. In a number of federal states it is the only form of signing available, i.e. supporting an initiative by signing a petition by free collection is expressly prohibited. In a few other federal states, official registration is an alternative to free collection, i.e. the initiators must determine in advance of a request which registration method they want to use, this having an impact on the further procedural regulations (e.g. the deadlines for the collection and the amount of quorums).
Criticism
If there is no alternative to official collection, it is often criticized by proponents of direct democracy as significantly increasing the hurdles for supporting a direct democratic initiative.[2] In rural areas in particular, a potential signer may have to go a long way to express support for an initiative. The limited opening times are another hurdle, especially for working people, which makes it difficult to support a request. Proponents of the official collection argue that it is the only means of guaranteeing sufficient protection against forgery of signatures and data protection.[3]
In the German state of Brandenburg as a reaction to the criticism of the official collection, including from the SPD and Die Linke political parties[4] a reform in 2012 created the possibility for municipal administrations to be able to determine further registration offices (e.g. bank and post office branches, shops).[5][6] However, the critics of the official registration do not see any fundamental improvement in this; rather, the problem is now also created that the number of registration offices is dependent on the political support of an initiative from local politicians.
References
- ↑ "Direkte Demokratie: Bundesländer im Vergleich". Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2021. direktdemokratischer Verfahrensbedingungen zwischen den österreichischen Bundesländern von mehr demokratie!.
- ↑ Positionspapier des Vereins Mehr Demokratie zur Frage der Amtseintragung in Deutschland.
- ↑ Das Wählen soll nicht zu einfach sein, Grit Weihraucher, taz 3. Januar 2012.
- ↑ "Über 500 Unterschriften gegen Amtseintragung gesammelt". Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2021., Märkische Oderzeitung.
- ↑ "Mehr Demokratie für Brandenburg oder viel Lärm um nichts? | Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung". www.politische-bildung-brandenburg.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ↑ Kost, Andreas; Solar, Marcel (2018-09-21). Lexikon Direkte Demokratie in Deutschland (in Deutsch). Springer-Verlag. p. 19. ISBN 978-3-658-21783-9. Search this book on
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