On 22nd September 2013 Germany goes to the polls to elect a new government. In an innovative attempt to boost the election turnout, three students of political science at the University of Bremen created a competition aimed at voters in Bremen and Lower Saxony. Their project entitled “2013 Election Prize” [WahlPreis 2013] has caught the imagination of several well-known politicians and is supported by the Presidents of Lower Saxony’s and Bremen’s state parliaments. This week the students are touring around Lower Saxony and Bremen with an info booth. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. they will be in front of the Bremen State Parliament (on the Dom side) to talk with potential voters. Before that they will be traveling to Hanover (17th September) as well as Oldenburg and Osnabrück (18th September). Everyone is invited to come along and meet the students, talk to them about the election, and participate in the competition.

What’s the competition about?

“The ‘2013 Election Prize’ has nothing to do with which party you choose to vote for – but that people bother to vote at all”, explains Steven Tümler, one of three organizers. The competition encompasses a total of 32 voting constituencies in the Federal States of Bremen and Lower Saxony. The rules are simple: The title “Election District of the Year 2013” will be awarded to the constituency with the highest voting turnout in the forthcoming general election. The winning election district will also receive the “Election Trophy”, which will be kept until the next competition in four year’s time.

1,000 euro prize money for the most creative supporting activity

Part of the project foresees a reward for the most creative supporting activity. Citizens who make an outstanding contribution to mobilizing the voters in their election district can win prize money amounting to 1,000 euros. The rules: The special activity must actually take place and must not be in support of any particular political party. Deadline for applications to participate is 30th September 2013.

You can find out more under http://wahlpreis.de/kreativ

“Election Prize” Tour Dates:

17th September, 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.: Hanover (Kröpcke)

18th September 10 a.m. till 1 p.m.: Osnabrück (Große Straße 29) and 17.30 till 19.30 Oldenburg (Lange Straße 11)
19th September 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.: Bremen, in front of the Bürgerschaft (on the Dom side)

The initiators:

The “2013 Election Prize” project was conceived by three students of the University of Bremen: 20-year-old Timo Albeshausen, reading Political Science and Law, is a member of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and active in the party’s youth organization, the Junge Union. Steven Tümler, 29 years old, student of Political Science, is a member of the IG Metall trade union and holder of a scholarship awarded by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. Fabian Wesselmann, 20 years old, also a student of Political Science, is active in the political party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and is councilor of the municipality of Lastrup. “Cooperating like this on a level above party affiliation lends plausibility to our efforts to mobilize voters”, says Timo Albeshausen.

Project backers:

The “2013 Election Prize” project meanwhile enjoys backing from a number of political personalities: Professor of Political Science, Lothar Probst, from the University of Bremen, the President of the Bremen State Parliament, Christian Weber, the President of the State Parliament of Lower Saxony, Bernd Busemann, members of the German Parliament Jürgen Trittin, Katharina Nocun, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Sigmar Gabriel, Agnes Alpers, Katharina Büntjen and Dr. Philipp Rösler, as well as Willi Lemke and Frank Bsirske. On top of this, no less than 150 candidates standing for election in Lower Saxony and Bremen have meanwhile expressed their support for the “2013 Election Prize”. Fabian Wesselmann is overjoyed: “This makes our project one of the most successful non-partisan actions to mobilize voters in the history of the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony”, he says.

You can read more about the project under www.wahlpreis.de or on Facebook www.facebook.com/wahlpreis and Twitter https://twitter.com/wahlpreis.

Information can also be obtained by contacting the following address:
Universität Bremen
Projektteam „WahlPreis2013“
Phone: +49 172-971 5757
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