In the legal dispute over the so-called Sunday question with the polling institute Forsa, Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel failed.

As the Hessian Administrative Court (VGH) announced in Kassel on Wednesday, his complaint was rejected.

It was about the question of whether polling institutes are allowed to publish polls in the answers of postal voters.

The Federal Returning Officer had argued that the publication of surveys before the end of the election period constituted a violation of the Federal Election Act, "if postal voters are asked not only about their intention to vote, but also about their voting decision," according to a statement.

The Wiesbaden Administrative Court ruled in favor of Forsa in an urgent decision.

A publication ban affects the freedom of reporting.

The publication of voter polls is part of the political and democratic process.

On the other hand, the Federal Returning Officer lodged a complaint with the VGH, which suspended the execution of the Wiesbaden decision.

Postal voting does not fall under the ban on publication  

On Wednesday, the Kassel judges confirmed the decision of the VG.

Postal voting does not fall under the ban on the publication of the results of voter surveys after voting before the end of the election period, the VGH announced.

The federal electoral law distinguishes between voting on election day in the voting room on the one hand and postal voting on the other, argued the 8th Senate.

The term voting time defines the possibility of voting in the polling stations between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Since the postal vote must take place before this period, the VGH considers the ban on publication to be inapplicable.

The legislature has not seen any need for action or regulation for a temporal extension of the ban, said the Administrative Court.

The VGH decision is final.

Survey institutes regularly ask randomly selected citizens: "If there were general elections on Sunday, who would they vote for?"

Forsa also asks whether someone has already voted by letter and if so, who.

The voting behavior of postal voters is included in the survey results, but is not shown separately.

The election to the German Bundestag will take place next Sunday, September 26th.