Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – With a referendum, the FDP wants to push through changes to the electoral law for the state parliament, which was changed in the spring. This was announced by parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke and country leader Michael Theurer on Friday in Stuttgart. They did not give exact details. Both referred to a planned press conference next Thursday. In the past, the Liberals had warned time and again that the new electoral law would bloat parliament and proposed reducing the number of constituencies to 60. However, the Liberals were unable to assert themselves.
With the electoral law reform, two-vote voting rights were introduced in April for Baden-Württemberg. With the first vote, the constituency candidate is elected directly. The second vote goes to a party, which draws up a state list for it – this gives the parties more influence in the choice of candidates. The distribution of seats in the state parliament is determined by the second vote. Depending on the number of direct mandates a party has, a balance and thus more seats in parliament will be necessary in order to achieve a distribution of seats according to the second votes. The Bundestag, which has been growing ever more recently, is also struggling with similar problems. The reform in the southwest should ensure, among other things, that more women enter the plenum.
At the state level, there have recently been attempts for referendums, for example on species protection or free daycare centers. Not once did one come about.
