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Berlin Car‑Free and Ad‑Limits Petitions Fall Well Short of Signature Threshold

The low totals raise doubts about reaching the 7% voter threshold.

Overview

  • Berlin’s state election office reported Tuesday that Berlin autofrei has about 46,200 signatures and Berlin werbefrei about 14,000, far below the roughly 174,000 required.
  • District reviews show about 85% of checked entries are valid, which means each campaign must collect well above the raw threshold to end up with enough valid signatures.
  • The four‑month collection window ends May 8 after a January start, leaving little time for either drive to close the gap.
  • Berlin autofrei would curb private car use inside the S‑Bahn ring to 12 days per person each year, dropping to 6 after ten years, with exemptions for services like police, fire, waste collection and public transport.
  • If an initiative hits the mark, a referendum could be held on September 20 alongside the state election, and the law would pass only if a majority votes yes and at least 25% of all eligible voters support it.