(1) Every eligible voter who is listed in the electoral register is sent a notification, similar to that shown in Annex 3, by the municipal authority not later than the day before the electoral register is opened for inspection. The notification letter, which is clearly recognisable as an electoral document on the outside, should contain
1. the surname, the first name(s) and the residential address of the person eligible to vote,
2. details of the polling station and whether it is fully accessible, 3. details of the polling hours,
4. the number under which the person eligible to vote is listed in the electoral register, 5. the request for the eligible voter to bring the voter’s notification to the poll and to have his or her national identity card or passport ready,
5a the instruction that each eligible voter may vote once only and must do so personally as laid down in section 14 subsection (4) of the Federal Elections Act, 6. the instruction that the voter’s notification is not a substitute for a polling card and therefore does not entitle the voter to vote at any polling station other than the one designated,
7. a note as to where eligible voters may obtain information on accessible polling stations and aids,
8. instructions on how to apply for a polling card and the dispatch of postal ballot documents. The instructions must at least contain information
a) stating that the application for a polling card must only be completed if the person eligible to vote wishes to vote at another polling station in his or her constituency or by postal ballot,
b) regarding the conditions under which a polling card is issued (section 25 subsection (1) and section 27 subsection (4), third sentence),
c) stating that no-one other than the person eligible to vote may apply for the polling card unless written authorisation is provided which entitles another party to apply for a polling card (section 27 subsection (3)).
If an eligible voter is entered in the electoral register upon application as per section 16 subsections (2) to (5) after the notifications specified in the first sentence have been sent,
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the voter’s notification must be sent to the voter immediately after the voter has been added to the register.
(2) An application form for the issue of a polling card and postal ballot documents, as shown in Annex 4, must be printed on the reverse of the notification specified in subsection (1).
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to eligible voters who are entered in the electoral register upon application only as per section 16 subsection (2) and who have already applied for a polling card and postal ballot documents.
(4) If a Land Returning Officer finds that the timely notification as per subsection (1) is disrupted owing to natural disasters or force majeure, he or she is to decide that the notification may be carried out later in the area concerned. If there is cause for concern that the notification pursuant to subsection (1) cannot be effected by the sixth day before the election, he or she is to decide that the eligible voters will be notified of the details specified in subsection (1), second sentence, numbers 2, 3, 5 to 7 in another appropriate way. To this end, the Land Returning Officer may make arrangements to respond to the special circumstances in individual cases. The Land Returning Officer makes known to the public, in an appropriate way, the reasons for the disruption, the area concerned, the adjustments made in individual cases and the manner of notification.