Postal voting for the federal election in Germany started this Monday.
The voting pressured conservative candidate Armin Laschet to stimulate his struggling campaign or risk losing to the left coalition.
A Federal Election Commission official confirmed on Monday that postal ballots were available now, six weeks before the election.
The election is due on September 26, where Chancellor Angela Merkel will step down after 16 years of administration.
No party would enjoy an effortless lead as Merkel left behind a collapsed political situation.
Moreover, Laschect’s ratings declined sharply after people saw him laughing in his visit to flooded West Germany.
Laschest’s actions allowed the Social Democratic Party to lead a tripartite alliance with the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
However, FDP leader, Christian Lindner, said the scenario is less likely to happen.
“A high share of postal ballots should benefit parties like the Greens, representing affluent, well-educated voters,” said Carsten Nickel.
Postal voting requires bureaucratic knowledge and social relations capital.
This presents a major obstacle for poor and less knowledgeable parties.
As concerns about a fourth wave of Covid-19 arise, pollsters and strategists expect over a third of the voters to cast their ballots by mail.
In the federal elections of 2017, 28.6% of the votes were postal ballots.
Both parties attempt to mobilize supporters for postal voting before attracting floating voters on Election Day.
“We will experience a two-part election campaign,” said Matthias Jung of the pollster Forschungsgruppe Wahlen.
Merkel’s advantage
Old people tend to choose postal voting more than younger voters, and Merkel’s conservative alliance is famous among older voters.
Laschet realizes the Conservatives’ need to gain momentum, as they have lost about 10 points in the polls since earlier this year.
“Our goal now is to become stronger in the next few weeks, so that we can lead a future government,” he said on Monday.
