Information on the referendum on 22 October
Overall result
| Total votes | invalid | "yes" | "no" | Voter turnout % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22,592 (total) | 71 (invalid) | 7,629 (Yes, 34 %) | 14,892 (No, 66 %) | 38.8 % Voter turnout |
Results by constituency
| Voting district | Voting room | Total votes | invalid | "yes" | "no" | Voting turnout % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liebfrauen Parish Hall | 867 (total) | 3 (invalid) | 270 (yes) | 594 (no) | 17.4 % turnout |
| 2 | Bishop Ketteler School | 1,150 (total) | 3 (invalid) | 329 (Yes) | 818 (No) | 23 % Voter turnout |
| 3 | Euregio-Gymnasium (Voting room 1) | 644 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 151 (Yes) | 491 (No) | 27 % Voting turnout |
| 4 |
Euregio-Gymnasium (Voting room 2) |
1,165 (total) |
2 (invalid) |
219 (Yes) |
944 (No) |
26.2 % Voting turnout |
| 5 | Clemens August School | 1,147 (total) | 1 (invalid) | 397 (Yes) | 749 (No) | 23.8 % Voter turnout |
| 6 | Bocholt Municipal Comprehensive School (voting area 1) | 439 (total) | 0 (invalid) | 128 (Yes) | 311 (No) | 16.6 % Voting turnout |
| 7 | Bocholt Municipal Comprehensive School (voting area 2) | 833 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 472 (Yes) | 359 (No) | 35.4 % turnout |
| 8 | Biemenhorst Civic Centre (Voting room 1) | 986 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 717 (Yes) | 267 (No) | 37.7 % turnout |
| 9 | Biemenhorst Civic Centre (Voting room 2) | 1,307 (total) | 7 (invalid) | 916 (Yes) | 384 (No) | 50.7 % turnout |
| 10 |
Mussum Cross School |
1,522 (total) |
13 (invalid) |
626 (Yes) |
894 (No) |
35.2 % Turnout |
| 11 | A.-v.-D.-Hülshoff-Schule (Voting room 1) | 720 (total) | 1 (invalid) | 173 (Yes) | 546 (No) | 24.8 % Voting turnout |
| 12 | A.-v.-D.-Hülshoff-Schule (Voting room 2) | 752 (total) | 1 (invalid) | 180 (Yes) | 571 (No) | 28.2 % Turnout |
| 13 | St. Bernard Primary School Lowick | 1,007 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 215 (Yes) | 790 (No) | 35 % Turnout |
| 14 | Benölkenplatz neighbourhood campus (voting room 1) | 551 (total) | 1 (invalid) | 148 (Yes) | 402 (No) | 19.3 % Voting turnout |
| 15 | Benölkenplatz neighbourhood campus (voting room 2) | 694 (total) | 5 (invalid) | 118 (Yes) | 571 (No) | 26 % Turnout |
| 16 | Vocational College Bocholt-West | 1,141 (total) | 10 (invalid) | 291 (Yes) | 840 (No) | 22.3 % Voter turnout |
| 17 | St. Bernard Primary School Lowick (Voting room 2) | 696 (total) | 3 (invalid) | 140 (Yes) | 553 (No) | 24.1 % turnout |
| Postal vote 1 | 1,403 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 432 (Yes) | 969 (No) | ||
| Postal vote 2 | 1,384 (total) | 2 (invalid) | 439 (Yes) | 943 (No) | ||
| Postal vote 3 | 1,411 (total) | 3 (invalid) | 458 (Yes) | 950 (No) | ||
| Postal vote 4 | 1,381 (total) | 6 (invalid) | 409 (Yes) | 966 (No) | ||
| Postal vote 5 | 1,381 (total) | 0 (invalid) | 401 (Yes) | 980 (No) |
On Sunday, 22 October 2023, 58,036 Bocholt residents entitled to vote will decide by postal and ballot vote whether there will be accommodation for refugees at the "Auf dem Takenkamp" site in Biemenhorst, or whether another site must be found in the Bocholt municipal area.
Especially in the social networks, comments and opinions on the topic have been piling up for weeks. Even though a large part of these discussions is based on facts, there are also isolated assertions that, in the view of the administration, simply do not correspond to the facts.
When the people of Bocholt cast their vote for or against refugee accommodation "Auf dem Takenkamp", it is important from the perspective of the city administration to have as comprehensive a picture of the situation as possible. On this page you will find answers to questions that have reached us in the past weeks or that have been asked under posts in the social networks.
The question
Are you in favour of the fact that, contrary to Council Decision 115/2023, no initial accommodation for refugees is to be built at the "Auf dem Takenkamp" site?
| What my cross means: | ||
|---|---|---|
YES |
= I support the citizens' petition and vote against the construction of refugee accommodation at the location "Auf dem Takenkamp". |
|
NO |
= I reject the citizens' petition and want, that the location "Auf dem Takenkamp" be maintained. be retained. |
|
Voting booklet for download
All information on the referendum as well as the reasons given by the representatives of the citizens' petition, the council and the administration have beencompiled in a voting booklet .
This booklet was sent together with the voting notifications to all Bochol residents entitled to vote.
This is how the voting works
All citizens of Bocholt who are eligible to vote are called upon to cast their vote on the referendum on Sunday, 22 October 2023.
This is how you can vote:
At the polling station on 22 October:
On 22 October, 17 polling stations will be open from 8am-6pm. You can find out in which voting district you can cast your vote on the notification card sent to you by post.
Forgotten or misplaced your polling station address? No problem:
Follow this link to the Voting Room Finder. Enter your address details at "Where is my polling station?" enter your address details and your voting room will be displayed.
All voting rooms are barrier-free.
Votingby mail:
You could vote by mail until Friday, 20 October. This option no longer exists after the deadline.
Frequently asked questions and assertions
"Why has the question been formulated in such a complicated way?"
The question to be voted on here must not be chosen by the administration. The initiators of a citizens' petition have the task of formulating a question that fulfils the necessary legal requirements.
This is a citizens' petition by way of a petition for review, i.e. one that is directed against a concrete decision of the council. In this specific case, the question to be put to the vote must therefore be directed against the resolution of the city council meeting from May 2023.
The administration advised the initiators of the citizens' petition on how the question to be put to the vote could be formulated. Since the initiators wanted a "yes" vote to mean that no refugee accommodation would be built, the question was worded accordingly.
Explanations in the voting booklet
Together with the voting notification, all Bocholt residents entitled to vote will receive a voting booklet (click here). In it, among other things, the question and the corresponding effects will be clearly stated once again:
YES = I vote against the construction of a refugee shelter at the location "Auf dem Takenkamp".
NO = I vote for the construction of a refugee shelter at the "Auf dem Takenkamp" site.
Is the claim that there are no real limits on the number of people at the "Auf dem Takenkamp" site true?
In individual media reports on the referendum it was claimed that no real limitation of the number of people and the duration of refugee accommodation at the "Auf dem Takenkamp" site had been planned or communicated.
This is not correct! From the beginning, the council and the administration have discussed the accommodation of a maximum of 250 persons and for a period until the end of 2027 at the latest - and this has also been decided.
"Why 250 people? Couldn't a smaller accommodation be planned?"
The city of Bocholt has already had experience with larger sites in the past. Of course, it would also be possible to build accommodation for less than 250 people. However, from the administration's point of view, a small size would bring with it some new problems:
If the accommodation is planned too small, more alternative locations will be needed for the accommodation of refugees in case of doubt. These locations must then also be staffed (e.g. by security, social services, educational support).
In addition, a smaller number of people will probably also reduce the number of children in the facility. Care through a so-called "bridge project" - i.e. central care at the location - can then possibly no longer be justified from an organisational point of view; in this case, the local care facilities would be additionally burdened.
"Why doesn't the city of Bocholt provide decentralised accommodation for refugees?"
Refugees have been accommodated in a decentralised manner for years.
This can be seen in the diagram: Blue are the locations of initial accommodation facilities in the Bocholt city area, the green dots indicate private housing that is rented to refugees in Bocholt.
However, the ongoing humanitarian crisis due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine also brings with it the need to prepare for larger migration movements. Because one thing is clear: if the number of refugees in Germany increases, the number of people who have to be accommodated in Bocholt will also increase.
Will fewer people be sent to Bocholt if there are fewer facilities in the city?
The number of refugees in Bocholt is independent of the number of planned facilities. This number is determined by the district government based on federal and state law.
If the facility is not built, gymnasiums, sports halls, community halls or schools may have to be used again, which will then no longer be available to children, young people and clubs for months.
If the area "Auf dem Takenkamp" cannot be used for temporary refugee accommodation, another area for collective accommodation would have to be found in the city area.
Where is my polling station?
The voting district and voting room in which you, as a citizen entitled to vote, can vote on Sunday, 22 October, is indicated on the official voting notification that was sent to you by post.
Have you lost the letter or forgotten your address?
Press the link to the Voting Room Finder. At "Where is my polling station?" and your polling station will be displayed.
All voting rooms are barrier-free.
When would the citizens' petition be successful?
The citizens' petition and the citizens' referendum are governed by the provisions of § 26 of the Municipal Code of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The citizens' petition would be successful if at least 15% of the citizens entitled to vote would vote in favour and this number of votes would also represent the majority.
In Bocholt, 58,036 people are entitled to vote. The 15% quorum thus corresponds to 8,705 people.