Duisburg Offers Free Beer to Boost Voter Turnout for Bundestag Election

The city aims to combat historically low voter participation by incentivizing early voting with complimentary beverages on February 15.

Duisburg has announced a unique initiative to increase voter turnout by offering free beer to those who vote early at a designated location on February 15.
Eligible voters can collect their mail-in voting materials and cast their vote at the Bürgeramt Mitte between 10 AM and 2 PM to receive a voucher for a drink from a local brewery.
This effort follows a similar but less successful attempt during the 2024 European elections, which only offered non-alcoholic beer and saw minimal participation.
Critics have raised concerns about using alcohol as an incentive, but the city defends the move as an innovative strategy to strengthen democratic participation.
The initiative is part of broader efforts to address Duisburg's consistently lower voter turnout compared to national averages, with the 2021 Bundestag election seeing only 68.1% participation in the city.