Burgwedel officials opened and resealed mail-in ballot envelopes before election

In Burgwedel, municipal workers admitted to opening official mail-in ballot envelopes before the local election in order to re-orient voting slips that were placed upside down in the windowed envelopes. After adjusting the slips, the envelopes were resealed, often with packaging tape. The practice was confirmed by the city’s security and order team leader in coordination with the municipal election chief.

The state election office of Lower Saxony evaluated the method as contrary to the municipal election code and instructed the Hanover region to stop it immediately. No evidence was found that the secrecy of the ballots was compromised, as the inner ballot packets remained sealed. The number of affected envelopes was not disclosed, and the authority plans to keep unopened envelopes sealed until a public opening on election day.