Election day in Berlin on 26 September 2021, with its multiple organisational deficiencies, long waiting times and missing ballot papers, is not remembered fondly by most Berliners. The result is an almost unprecedented situation in the Federal Republic of Germany, in which the elections to the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin, to the Berlin district assemblies, and in some cases to the Bundestag, have to be repeated. These repeat-election are the starting point for the project, which focuses on the perspectives of Berliners, especially young people.

Within the framework of the Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script" (SCRIPTS), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), we are inviting a total of 50,000 Berlin citizens to tell us via the website www.wahlstudie.de what experiences they had with the failed election and what effects these have on their trust and behaviour in future elections. In addition, by re-surveying participants in the 2021 Youth Election Study, special attention will be paid to those who made their first, formative experience of voting under the worst possible conditions. The project thus provides a comprehensive database for assessing the short- and long-term consequences of a highly unusual process in democracy.

The Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS

The Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)" is a research network that investigates current debates around the model of liberal democracy and market economy. SCRIPTS exists since 2019 and is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the framework of the Excellence Initiative until the end of 2025. The cluster is based at Freie Universität Berlin and connects a total of eight Berlin research institutions.